He, however, indicated that the swift response from the police had brought the situation under control.

Answering questions before the Appointments Committee of Parliament last Friday, the Minister-designate, an accountant, condemned the takeover of national offices and premises allegedly by supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The hoodlums, among other things, besieged the Passport Office in Accra, seized tollbooths, public toilets and other public facilities.

Public concern

It became an issue of major public concern, and the NDC, in a statement through its National Chairman, Mr Kofi Portuphy, called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to urgently call the perpetrators to order.

The minister-designate condemned the retaliatory stance of the miscreants, saying, “When you ask people why they do that, the only response they give is ‘they did it to us’.

"But as you agree, two wrongs will never make one right and I think as we go along we should find a way of stopping such behaviour.

“I think the creation of a Ministry of National Security will enable the ministry and the secretariat to be more accountable to the people of Ghana because we have to report to Parliament on a regular basis this time. It will give us the chance or the opportunity to address some of these national issues.”

Minister designate

The minister-designate shared similar views with the President on the reason for creating the new portfolio to enhance internal security efforts and government accountability on security matters.

“I think the security agencies have been very firm and very strict as a result of which the problem is no longer existing. To a very large extent, we have been able to stop that but I can assure you that I do fully support the fact that we must make people respect the laws of Ghana,” he said.

Members of the committee asked questions on the curriculum vitae presented by the nominee and also referred to a judgement debt hearing that involves the MP for Adansi Asokwa, Mr K. T. Hammond, about a committee set up by the nominee to sell Ghana’s drill ship.

Negotiations

Mr Kan-Dapaah responded that the setting up of that committee was to enter into negotiations with Societe General which the government owed.

He, however, said the committee’s purpose was defeated as the company obtained the judgement and was not willing to enter into any negotiations.

The nominee also responded to a petition submitted by a member of the public against him in respect of information allegedly passed on to him when he was Defence Minister in the Kufuor administration about a ship that was carrying cocaine.

The petitioner, one John King in WikiLeaks, described the nominee’s response as dismissive and irritable but Mr Kan-Dapaah replied that he was not a Defence Minister but rather became a Minister of the Interior two days after the complaint was made.

He said he issued a press statement which he read to answer the queries, and that the issue was brought to his attention on May 3 but he was appointed minister on May 5 of the year in question.

He further said the minister’s role was more of an administrative one and did not have anything to do with the operations of the Narcotics Control Board.