Deal with drug menace ... Dr Aning advises President Mills

Page 19: Daily Graphic, January 10, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
DR Kwesi Aning, Head of the Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution Department (CPMRD) of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, has called on President J. E. A. Mills to deal with the narcotics menace because it poses a major threat to the nation’s security.
“This threat is more insidious and dangerous than the threat of conflicts that engulfed this sub-region in the 1990s and early 21st century. This is because of the manner in which this threat, namely, the increasing flow of drugs through Ghana, now one of two major hubs in the region, is beginning to undermine both communities and public sector institutions and increasingly replacing the state, in some instances, by providing services previously reserved for states,” he said.
Dr Aning, whose concerns were contained in a letter to the President under the heading, “Managing expectations, reconciling Ghana and defining priorities”, reminded Prof Mills that “apart from the usual issue areas that were identified and appropriate promises made, Election 2008 was defined by a surprisingly welcome agreement among all presidential candidates about one issue area, namely, the national and security threat posed to Ghana and West Africa by the narcotics trade”.
He said what Prof Mills could do in the immediate to short-term included revising and strengthening legislation underpinning the Narcotics Control Board (NCB) and making it an independent body.
He said the new administration should also create a greater clarity and operational understanding of the emergence, impact and growth of organised crime in general and narcotics in particular, as well as the enforcement of assets declaration regulations.
He explained that the drug trade or trafficking in Ghana now formed a major part of transnational criminal activities taking place in West Africa and, therefore, required “to be on top of your priority list as head of government” due to the multiple threats it posed to all aspects of Ghana’s life.
Touching on other areas, Dr Aning said it was important that Prof Mills considered the time frame within which he could deliver on his promises in a manner that citizens did not start getting disillusioned and how to manage their expectations so that they did not think that they had been given vain promises.
“It is critical that these concerns are brought to your notice, hopefully before you are sworn in, so that in making your choices of the best and brightest minds in Ghana to help you to deliver on your promises, these concerns are factored into your considerations,” he said.
“Equally important is the fact that there should be recognition by yourself and your team that democracy functions best when citizens feel that they have not been taken for granted, but more important that their trust and support really do count for something. This is something that citizens are increasingly becoming aware of and expect that those who wield power on their behalf should show respect for,” he stressed.
Dr Aning said politics was not only about trust, support and respect but also reciprocity; of recognising the competing interests and demands and expectations of the silent but huge minority who did not vote for him.
He said the results from both the first and the second rounds showed that a large and significant minority did not support him, which placed difficulties on him.
“It calls for mature, seasoned, considered and reconciliatory approaches to make this large minority citizen-electorates feel part of your government. Such a minority requires to be heard also,” he opined.
Dr Aning explained that he was raising concerns about reconciliation and the need for Prof Mills’s administration to quickly signal its intention and interest in an inclusive administration.
According to him, the rationale for the necessity of such an approach was that Election 2008 had also exposed serious cracks about the sense of being Ghanaian, basically a feeling of ‘ghanaianess’, namely, “our identity as a diverse but bounded collective, of different ethnicities driven by our shared desire to be Ghanaian, while maintaining our uniqueness”.
He said while that dream had been fought for in the half century since Ghana became independent, the words, actions and behaviour of several national politicians and the misguided policies of some public agencies during the electoral period had resulted in some Ghanaians feeling uncertain and insecure about being part of the bounded collective.
“This is dangerous and can undermine the unity that Ghanaians have fought so hard for. You are in a unique position to quickly reverse this negative trend through considered, inclusive and sober initiatives,” he stated.
Dr Aning noted that the politics of winner-takes-all in Ghana could make some persons around Prof Mills argue against stretching his hand out to his political opponents or rather encourage him to make public statements of reconciliation that he did not intend to follow through.
“This will not only be disingenuous but also dangerous. But there are also moderates around you who will counsel for soberness and sensitivity towards those who are vanquished and to chart a course of inclusiveness. Give these moderate voices around you a fair hearing,” he advised.
Dr Aning congratulated Prof Mills on his election victory, saying that “there is no doubt that in the political history of Ghana this has been one of the longest, hardest fought and most gruelling of elections”.
He said although he would have preferred to leave Prof Mills alone to savour his victory for a few more days and rest after almost 18 months of traversing the length and breadth of Ghana canvassing for votes and presenting and offering his vision to the nation, “I am afraid that the last couple of months have also exposed some disturbing developments that you and the team that you will inevitably put together will have to examine”.