Former Sekondi Member of Parliament Andrew Egyapa Mercer has given President John Mahama seven days to publish the roadmap of the government’s anti-drug trafficking task force, while renewing calls for a parliamentary inquiry into cocaine seizures linked to Ghana.
Mercer made the demands on Wednesday, November 4, arguing that the country needs greater transparency over several narcotics cases recorded since January 2025.
He wants Parliament to establish a bipartisan committee and hold public hearings into the seizures, including incidents reported in Amsterdam, France and Lebanon.
He also called on President Mahama to issue a joint statement with Lebanese authorities clarifying whether the recent arrest of a Syrian passenger carrying 46.7 kilogrammes of cocaine in Beirut resulted from a controlled delivery operation led by Ghanaian agencies.
Mercer questioned the account provided by the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), saying it appeared inconsistent with information attributed to Lebanese authorities.
“If you listen to the narrative from the Lebanese authorities and you relate it to what NACOC is telling us, clearly there's a disconnect,” he said.
However, Majority Leader James Agalga rejected the proposal for a parliamentary investigation, insisting that Parliament does not have the authority to conduct criminal investigations.
He argued that several suspects had already been arrested, charged or brought before the courts, making a separate parliamentary inquiry inappropriate while legal proceedings continue.
“The minority is aware that Parliament is not clothed with the power to carry out criminal investigations,” Agalga stated.
The disagreement follows Speaker Alban Bagbin’s September rejection of an earlier Minority motion seeking an inquiry into cocaine-related cases.
The Minority has since filed a fresh motion asking the Speaker to review that decision.
