On Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Wednesday, September 30, MP Isaac Boamah‑Nyarko of Effia raised alarm over the severe funding and logistical deficits crippling the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC). He said the commission’s budget has been cut over the years, leaving it without basic equipment and resources needed to carry out its mandate effectively.
Boamah‑Nyarko highlighted the absence of scanners and drug‑testing laboratories as major hurdles, noting that NACOC must rely on third‑party labs to test seized narcotics because it lacks its own facilities. He added that the commission’s vehicle fleet is limited to about 26–27 cars, many of which are in poor condition, hampering pursuit operations.
Beyond transport, the MP raised concerns about NACOC’s capacity to confront armed suspects. He claimed that some offices, including the Takoradi facility, lack adequate weapons and operational gear. “If you go to Takoradi and you check their armoury, they don’t even have weapons,” he said, warning that chasing heavily armed drug dealers without proper logistics is dangerous.
Boamah‑Nyarko urged a comprehensive parliamentary probe into NACOC’s institutional lapses, arguing that piecemeal questions would fail to address the broader crisis in Ghana’s drug‑control efforts. He called for a front‑on review to expose and remedy the gaps before the executive continues to repeat the same mistakes.
