News:
October 2, 2026
The Minister for the Interior, Hon. Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, has denied saying that the international community has lost confidence in Ghana’s fight against drug trafficking through its borders following recent cocaine seizures, saying his comments have been consistently misrepresented.
Responding to a quote read in Parliament by the Minority Leader, who alleged that the Minister had said foreign counterparts were hesitant to share information with Ghana, Mr. Muntaka said he had been speaking to security officers during discussions on the Security and Intelligence Act.
He explained that he had said officers within the system who compromise investigations create doubt in the minds of international counterparts who share intelligence informally among themselves. “I did not say that, Mr. Speaker, for the avoidance of doubt,” he stressed.
The Minister said his earlier statement before the Committee on Government Assurance—that Customs officers and Energy Commission officials compromise the system—had been twisted to refer to politically exposed persons, a point he had repeatedly clarified.
He cited the Australian and French cases, in which Customs and Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) officers were arrested and prosecuted, to show that the government treats crime as crime regardless of who is involved. “Even if you are the head of your political party, once we know you are part of the crime, we will deal with you,” he said.
On intelligence sharing, he said intelligence officers share information without necessarily following rigid Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) procedures at the operational level, but at the political level MLA is required.
He said he had been in direct communication with his counterpart, the Netherlands Minister for Justice and Police, on the day of the incident.
The Speaker had earlier asked the Minister to confirm whether the quote attributed to him was accurate.
“At no time did I say that, government to government, there is any doubt. No. I was referring to the officers who have been working within the port. And, Mr. Speaker, this is not a secret. So please, they should stop twisting the facts and making it look as though they don’t trust us.
“As government, or government appointees, or ministers, we continue to interact. And as government, we continue to collaborate. We do a lot of work together, and we share intelligence together. But I am saying that when our own officers are being caught with this, it begins to cast doubt in the minds of our counterparts. That is what I was referring to. Thank you, Mr. Speaker,” the Minister said.
Ghanamps.com