By Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo
A 15-member Upper West Regional Anti-Drug Abuse Taskforce has been inaugurated in Wa. The Regional Minister, Charles Lwanga Puozuing, who inaugurated the taskforce, described the initiative as “a citizen-centred response to an urgent threat which could rob us of our youth, dismantle the social fabric of our communities, and endanger the future of this great region.”
GBC’s Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo reports that the taskforce has the Upper West Regional Police Commander, DCOP Nii Offei Darko Lomotey, as its Chairman, with Alhassan Tongsuglo of the Regional Coordinating Council as the Secretary.
The Regional Minister, Mr. Puozuing, who updated the taskforce on its terms of reference, indicated that the menace of illicit drug use is no longer a remote phenomenon, but something that is “present, persistent and predatory” across sections of society. He charged members of the taskforce to deliver on their mandate.
He noted that members must collaborate across agencies and institutions to identify, apprehend, and prosecute dealers, transporters, distributors, and users of illegal drugs. The Regional Minister said the taskforce is empowered to co-opt any person, organisation, or institution to assist in this crucial fight, saying, “Let us leverage every civic resource available.”
Mr. Puozuing continued that members must begin by “cleaning their own houses”. According to him, if any among them is involved in this menace, the duty begins within. “Integrity must be our hallmark,” he stressed.
Touching on the fourth guideline, he observed that all members are tasked to educate and sensitise the public using every available platform—be it churches, mosques, markets, or media. Mr. Puozuing added that the formation and inauguration of the taskforce is in tandem with the Local Governance Act, Act 936 of 2016, which underscores the critical role of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies in coordinating development at the local level and promoting accountable, responsive governance.
He said the taskforce is therefore a legitimate extension of our local governance framework, empowering community actors, traditional leaders, and public officers to unite in dismantling drug syndicates, rehabilitating addicts, and restoring public trust in law enforcement.
Mr. Puozuing, however, noted that the taskforce is not a substitute for the state security apparatus, saying, “It is a strategic complement, an augmentation of what the Narcotics Control Commission, the Police, the Ghana Education Service, the Ghana Health Service, and other stakeholders have already been doing with limited resources.”
The Regional Minister observed that the 2024 Manifesto of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), under its human development and social justice agenda, pledged to deepen community engagement and empower citizens to take ownership of local security challenges, including narcotics control. He emphasised that the taskforce therefore resonates deeply with that vision.
The Chairman of the Taskforce, DCOP Nii Offei Darko Lomotey, promised that members of the taskforce will do all within their power to deliver the goods
