<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
But Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin says the existence of criminal cases should not prevent Parliament from examining the performance of state institutions responsible for tackling drug trafficking.<\/p>\n
Addressing journalists ahead of Parliament\u2019s resumption on Tuesday, November 3, he said the motion was not an attempt to challenge the Speaker\u2019s authority but a move to protect Parliament\u2019s constitutional oversight role.<\/p>\n
He said the proposed bipartisan inquiry would examine institutional and regulatory weaknesses that could have allowed illicit drugs to move through Ghana.<\/p>\n
Afenyo-Markin cited the seizure of approximately 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at France\u2019s Port of Dunkirk on September 7, 2026. The drugs, valued at about \u20ac225 million, were reportedly concealed in a shipment of plastic waste from Ghana.<\/p>\n
He also mentioned reported seizures in Amsterdam, Antwerp and Sydney, alongside suspected cocaine interceptions in Ghana, including at the Tema Harbour enclave and Pedu Junction.<\/p>\n
According to him, the incidents raise questions about security at the country\u2019s ports, cargo inspection systems, customs controls and coordination among intelligence agencies.<\/p>\n
He argued that prosecuting individuals suspected of involvement in drug trafficking would not address possible failures within the institutions mandated to prevent such activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe prosecution of individuals, however necessary, cannot absolve the government of its responsibility to account for the institutional and regulatory weakness that may have facilitated these incidents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The minority leader stressed that the proposed inquiry would not interfere with the work of the courts or seek to determine the guilt of persons facing trial.<\/p>\n
He said the courts were responsible for determining criminal liability, while Parliament had a separate duty to assess public institutions, examine existing laws, and identify failures requiring corrective action.<\/p>\n
The Minority has therefore maintained that the ongoing prosecutions should not prevent parliamentary scrutiny of the systems and agencies responsible for controlling drug trafficking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Minority in Parliament is challenging Speaker Alban Bagbin\u2019s decision to block its proposed parliamentary investigation into drug trafficking through Ghana. The caucus has filed a motion under Standing Order 127, asking the Speaker to review his September 29, 2026 ruling that declared the proposed inquiry inadmissible. Bagbin had explained that allowing the inquiry to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123458,"featured_media":18188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/123458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18189,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18187\/revisions\/18189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}