Accra, Dec. 18, GNA - Government on Thursday called on two regulatory authorities - the Police Council and National Media Commission - to investigate the conduct of the Police and Daily Graphic in the Kinapharma mishap.
Ms Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry, said "The bodies must investigate the circumstances under which information about the alleged possession of substances suspected to be narcotics was leaked to the media before laboratory test was completed."
"Government is also worried about the unprofessional conduct of security personnel involved, circumstances under which such a serious story was published without proper checks and balances in the media." Ms Tetteh, who was speaking during a visit to Kinapharma Pharmaceuticals Company Limited in Accra, expressed government's concern about the unfortunate incident which had the potential of derailing efforts to create enabling environment for businesses to grow. She said the two regulatory bodies were to make their investigations and recommendations known to government for the appropriate remedies and possible sanctions.
The Daily Graphic on December 11, quoting a police CID source, reported that three officials of the Kinapharma were arrested on December 10 for possessing substances prohibited under the Narcotic Control Law. According to the newspaper, the suspects were picked up after a combined team from the police CID headquarters and the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB) identified the substances in a warehouse of the company. It further stated that a field test on some of the substances tested partially positive for cocaine.
The Ghana Standards Board conducted further tests and found no trace of narcotics in the substances as earlier speculated by the CID source. Ms Tetteh said government found the "whole episode" regrettable operational mistakes which clearly appeared to be based on errors by over exuberant personnel.
The Trade Minister debunked the notion of any tacit governmental involvement, stressing, "The Better Ghana Agenda" of government seeks to create enabling environment for business growth.
The Managing Director of Kinapharma, Mr. Kofi Nsiah Poku, thanked Ghanaians for their support including the media.
He called on the government to be swift in investigating the circumstances that led to the incident, why the information was leaked by the police and the unprofessional conduct of the police personnel involved even though Kinapharma management had cooperated fully.
"The whole incident has put fear into the business community; our reputation, both local and international, has been damaged; some financial institutions have expressed reservation about doing business with us." "We have suffered economic loss, our image has been dented morally as we were pre-judged before evidence was deduced.and government has to remedy the situation to restore confidence in economy," Mr Nsiah-Poku said. Mr Nsiah-Poku traced the Daily Graphic publication to the police, "stressing the publication contains information and quotations made only between us and the police". He later led the media to inspect the premises, which is currently under a 24-hour police guard.
