By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The Chairman of the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has disclosed that the Committee will soon present its report to the President for action as they are still collecting “all the cases and we will be presenting our report to the president soon”.
Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa in an interview with Accra-based Radio sidestepping details about their activities acknowledged the fact that they have received over 700 petitions and it has been such a daunting task. Still, there is the political will as directed by the president.
The North Tongu MP noted that the committee’s work aims to ensure accountability and keep government officials in check.
“We are all passionate about this. And what I like about what is going on is that we have the opportunity to show the same passion that we exhibited in opposition, now that we are in government, we are committed to this. And what this does is that it serves as a deterrent to those of us coming into government.”
He mentioned that the committee would soon begin the validation process of its work to ensure thoroughness and accuracy in the information gathered.
“We are hoping to be wrapping up soon in the next couple of weeks. We believe that we have gathered enough. We are now virtually done with a field validation in the capital where a lot of the looting happened, but we also have reports from across the country so, in the next few days from this weekend, we are going out of the capital to carry out the validation sessions”, he stressed.
In an attempt to tackle corruption and mismanagement of public funds, President-elect John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday, December 18, announced a five-member team to spearhead the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagship programme, Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL).
This initiative, central to Mahama’s anti-corruption campaign, aims to recover looted state resources, enforce accountability, and ensure good governance in Ghana.
ORAL is a cornerstone of Mahama’s governance strategy, prominently featured in his 120-day social contract agenda.
During his campaign, he vowed to make corruption costly by implementing measures to punish perpetrators severely and recover misappropriated public funds. These efforts, he emphasized, are critical to financing national development and restoring public trust in government institutions
A circular issued by the Office of the President-elect formally introduced the five-member team tasked with implementing ORAL.
The team comprises individuals with diverse expertise in law, auditing, law enforcement, and investigative journalism, ensuring a comprehensive approach to tackling corruption:
- Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa – Chairman
- Mr. Daniel Domelovo – Former Auditor-General
- COP (Rtd.) Nathaniel Kofi Boakye – Retired Police Commissioner
- Mr. Martin Kpebu – Private Legal Practitioner
- Mr. Raymond Archer – Investigative Journalist
The ORAL team’s mandate is threefold:
- Investigating Corruption Cases: Establishing a specialized task force to scrutinize suspected corruption under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
- Recovering Misappropriated State Resources: Tracing and reclaiming public funds and assets misused or stolen.
