“This is very similar to galamsey” — Rev. Matthew Gyamfi on drug abuse

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called on the government to consider declaring a state of emergency on drug use, warning that the growing availability of drugs is putting Ghana’s youth at risk.

President of the Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Gyamfi, said the country’s response to the drug problem must extend beyond international cocaine trafficking to the increasing use of drugs within local communities.

Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday (22 September), he said the Church was witnessing drug use among young people in communities across the country.

“Now drugs are also working slowly but persistently to also destroy our youthful population,” he said.

Most Rev. Gyamfi said substances including marijuana and other drugs were readily available in some communities and called for stronger action to prevent their sale and use.

“We can clear these things from the shelves and make it illegal for anybody to sell these things,” he said.

He argued that Ghana must fight drug trafficking internationally while simultaneously tackling drug use domestically.

“So, as we are fighting the international, we expect that this body, the government is also in place, to also be able to clear our shelves,” he said.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference has also linked the drug problem to broader social challenges, including unemployment, vulnerability and a lack of opportunities for young people.

Most Rev. Gyamfi said some young people could become involved with drugs because of social pressure or a desire to cope with difficult circumstances.

“There is unemployment. There is this. We feel that there is no future. You need some iota of happiness. And you think that you have to take this to get that,” he said.

He therefore called for a combination of enforcement, education, counselling and rehabilitation rather than relying exclusively on punishment.

“We need formation of conscience. We need structures. We need enforcement. We need all of this,” he said.

The Bishops’ Conference has also committed to intensifying drug-awareness education within Catholic institutions.

Most Rev. Gyamfi said representatives of Catholic youth organisations from across West Africa had recently met in Accra, where drug abuse was among the issues discussed.

He said the Church would increase education and counselling for young people as well as people working in Catholic institutions, including hospitals, nursing colleges and colleges of education.

He acknowledged that the Church’s ability to enforce anti-drug measures was limited compared with that of the state.

“We can go only so far,” he said. “We do not have the resources like the government has to put in place physical enforcement.”

He said education and appeals to conscience therefore needed to be backed by effective state structures and enforcement.

“Just appealing to conscience alone is not enough,” he said.

Most Rev. Gyamfi also compared the drug problem to illegal mining, saying both posed long-term threats to Ghana’s future.

“This is very similar to galamsey. It is very, very similar. Galamsey is destroying our nation. Now drugs are also working slowly but persistently to also destroy our youthful population,” he said.

The call for stronger action comes as Ghanaian authorities face renewed scrutiny over narcotics trafficking following the seizure in France of a major cocaine consignment allegedly linked to Ghana.

Most Rev. Gyamfi said the Bishops’ Conference would continue to use its presence in communities to raise awareness about the dangers of drug abuse.

“We see young people who put [on] marijuana. Young people on red,” he said, describing what he said was drug use he had observed during visits to communities.

He urged national authorities to treat drug abuse as an urgent national issue requiring sustained intervention.

AsaaseRadio