NACOB

THE government has intensified moves to restructure the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) to become an independent commission with the appropriate structures to enhance the execution of its mandate.
Among the moves are the amendment of Legislative Instrument 1507 of 1990 which established NACOB and the review of the conditions of service for its personnel to the standard befitting NACOB’s new status.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka, announced this at the launch of the 2008 International Narcotics Control Report in Accra last Thursday.
He said the move formed part of the government's efforts to fight the drug trade in the country.
He said it had been realised that the board under its current status was handicapped in carrying out its mandate to the fullest.
Mr Avoka said some portions of the Narcotics Control Sanctions and Prevention Law, PNDC Law 236 of 1990 were also being considered for amendment.
He said this was to ensure that drug dealers were hit from the angle where it hurts most, by confiscating the wealth they acquired from drug trafficking.
Mr Avoka said the decision was being informed by the difficulties currently being experienced when it came to the confiscation of property illegally acquired by convicted drug dealers.
He observed that the war on illicit drug trafficking had assumed a sophisticated dimension aided by technological advancement, adding that in view of that, drug law enforcement officers also needed to be properly equipped to enable them to counteract the clandestine activities of perpetrators of drug-related crimes.
Mr Avoka said the ministry would source funding for the procurement of user-friendly equipment and gadgets that could facilitate the detection of concealed narcotic drugs at the entry and exit points of the country.
He said as a ministry, they were more than committed to putting in place co-ordinated structures among the various law enforcement agencies to avoid the existing loopholes that were being exploited by drug dealers.
He said they were determined to eliminate all forms of antagonism among enforcement agencies to combat the hydra-headed drug menace.
A member of the International Narcotics Control Board, Dr Joseph B. Asare, said the report suggested that to ensure a more effective implementation of the international drug control conventions, the board invited governments to consider how best to ensure the efficient functioning of the 1961, 1971 and the 1988 conventions.
He said it also suggested that governments should make greater investments in prevention, especially with regard to youth and vulnerable groups, and to utilise the experiences and best practices tested in a variety of settings.
Dr Asare said the report also invited governments to study the discrepancies between international and domestic law with a view to fulfilling their obligations under the international drug control conventions and in that context, to consider their good faith in pursuing the aims of the conventions.
The Executive Secretary of NACOB, ACP Robert Ayalingo, said the board was procuring a software that would have all shipments coming from South America to the country put on it for monitoring.
He said adequately trained personnel would also be stationed at all the ports to conduct proper checks and scanning of all containers that arrive there.
ACP Ayalingo said the country would soon send some personnel of the Ghana Navy to be trained in Europe on how to monitor and properly search ships suspected to be carrying drugs.
He said Ghana recorded the highest number of arrests of traffickers in 2005, adding that the fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse was an uphill task that needed concerted and multi-sectoral approach.
The United Nations Country Representative in Ghana, Mr Dauda Toure, called on the government to intensify its steps to address the issue of illicit drug trade in the country.