President-elect, John Dramani Mahama’s agenda to fight corruption and recover all state funds and resources misappropriated by government officials appears to be getting the mass buy-in of a section of Ghanaians.
It seems a lot of Ghanaians have found the new modus operandi laudable and have aligned themselves, throwing their support behind the former president.
Former President Mahama in the run-up to the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections made a strong case for the need to revolutionize the country’s corruption fight. He promised electorates his commitment to initiate a new strategy dubbed Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) to help his administration salvage all state resources that have landed in the wrong hands through the wrong means.
With an overwhelming victory at the polls, the President-elect who is waiting to be sworn into office on January 7, 2024, has already set in motion his ORAL agenda.
A five-member team led by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has been set up to begin with the preparatory works even before John Mahama officially assumes office. Other members of the team are COP Nathan Kofi Boakye (rtd), Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner; Daniel Yao Domelevo, former Auditor-General, and Raymond Archer, an investigative journalist.
Following the announcement, the team seems to be basking in the goodwill of many Ghanaians as some say it’s a very “solid” team. This section of the populace has shown overwhelming support for the ORAL Team. Social media platforms are buzzing with citizens applauding the initiative and expressing hope for a new era of accountability.
Already a large section of the public has begun sharing ideas and information to make the work of the team easier. For instance, a police officer has written an open letter to the chairman of the committee to investigate the conduct of the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo-Dampare over his stewardship and management of the Ghana Police Service accounts at the Bank of Ghana, CBG, and NIB.
One tech-savvy Ghanaian even before the team was formed was willing to create a platform for Ghanaians with information about corruption and corruption-related acts to share anonymously to safeguard their security.
Another suggestion made by some Ghanaians to enhance the willingness to volunteer information is an arrangement that will reward persons who volunteered information with part of the recovered loot if their information was useful in the recovery.
One concerned Ghanaian, Kofi Thompson is also recommending that the team collaborate with other local and international investigative journalism organizations such as the International Federation of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and The Intercept. He believes the collaboration with these organizations will enable the team to uncover all cash stashed by officials in havens across the world.
“By leveraging the ICIJ’s databases and expertise, the ORAL committee could gain access to critical information about wealth stashed in offshore tax havens by Ghanaian politicians. The Intercept’s investigative reporting and data analysis capabilities would further enhance the committee’s efforts to follow the money trail and identify potential wrongdoings,” Kofi Thompson suggested in a Facebook post.
Atik Mohammed, former General Secretary of the PNC rather believes that people who have already started downplaying the work of ORAL are possibly persons with “skeletons in their cupboards.”
He says,” If you have nothing to hide then you should have no anxiety about the upcoming ORAL Test.”
With the widespread support and suggestions aimed at enhancing the work of the team, ORAL appears to be a new dawn for the fight against corruption which is carrying the people along.
Ghana’s fight against corruption is at a very critical crossword which must and should take advantage of the public support and goodwill to achieve the intended results. It will be catastrophic and a big blow to the country’s fight against corruption should this new wave and dawn of ORAL fail to deliver.
