Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Foreign Affairs Minister and Chairman of the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) has presented the Team’s final report to President John Dramani Mahama at the seat of Government in Accra.
ORAL was set up by then President-elect Mahama on December 18, 2024, to gather information on corruption, to be passed on to the appropriate government institutions for further investigation.
Mr Ablakwa said the Team received 2,417 complaints, which vindicated President Mahama’s decision to set up ORAL.
“It was a masterstroke. It was the right decision for our country, and it has deepened transparency and accountable governance.”
He said over the last 53 days; the Team had reviewed these petitions and of the 2,417 petitions, 44 were received directly from civil society organizations and other public-spirited citizens.
He said 59 of the 230 cases reviewed containing the documents, which they submitted to President Mahama were cases that had come up during the period that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) was in opposition, but they decided to go back to those matters and carry out a detailed review, and all of those were contained.
“So today we will be presenting a summary of these reports, the 230 of them which have been analyzed in greater detail,” he said.
Mr Ablakwa said even before the Government moved to Phase 2 of ORAL, which was going to focus on the actual recoveries, the actual retrievals, the Team had identified 10 initial benefits of ORAL.
He said ORAL had deepened transparency and accountability; stating that “It has really increased public awareness about the need to protect state assets, and it is also serving as a guide to the new government, and government officials are now more conscious of the need to make sure that, as President Mahama has consistently said, charity begins at home”.
The Chairman said the establishment of ORAL had enabled them to save 50 government bungalows that were on the verge of being demolished and had also attracted phenomenal local and international requests for forensic collaboration to recover the loot hidden offshore.
“We have received a number of international requests to support this initiative of the President in terms of forensics and to help in offshore retrievals, and all of that is documented in the report. It’s for the President to decide on the nature of this collaboration,” he said.
“Some of them have said that it would not cost us anything, they may just ask for a little percentage of success recoveries, but I’m sure the President and the Attorney General will advise on that moving forward.”
He said the 36 cases that the ORAL Team have reviewed in detail, if the state was successful in recoveries, they could retrieve as much as $20.49 billion.
He cited cases such as the National Cathedral, PDS, SML and the GNPC Saltpond decommissioning; declaring that there was a great deal of resources belonging to the taxpayers that could be retrieved.
He said their estimate of the state capture of lands, if they successfully ask people to pay conservative market value for the lands, the experts were telling them that the government could recover about $702.8 million for the Ghanaian people.
“That’s if we just ask people, those who are paying for the GHC 42,000, GHC 120,000, GHC 160,000 to pay the fair market value, those are lands that are $500,000, $600,000, you will struggle to get Cantonment land at that figure.”
He said the 36 cases, the high number of cases that they put together, and then the land loot potentially, the government could raise about $21.19 billion.
“And that is far more than what we have been chasing the IMF for, subjecting ourselves to all kinds of conditionalities.”
Mr Ablakwa expressed his appreciation and deep gratitude to the President and his team of advisors for the ORAL initiative, which had really served Ghana well.
He said they looked forward to the next phase; declaring that “even if we will not be involved, we will be successful when the next phase really conducts retrievals and is successful in making sure that we are able to return to the national kitty resources that belong to the Ghanaian people”.
Other members of the Team include Mr Daniel Domelevo, a former Auditor-General, Commissioner of Police (COP) Nathaniel Kofi Boakye (rtd), Mr Martin Kpebu, a Private Legal Practitioner and Mr Raymond Archer, an Investigative Journalist.
President Mahama upon receiving the ORAL Team’s report, immediately handed it over to Dr Dominic Akurutinga Ayine, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice for further investigation and action.
The President gave the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice firm instructions to commence immediate investigations into the cases reported in ORAL report with a view to prosecuting anyone found liable for corruption or related offenses.
“To those who think they can defraud the state and escape justice, let this serve as a strong warning,” he said.
“Ghana is no longer a safe haven for corruption. To those who stand for integrity, accountability, and the rule of law, I assure you that this government remains your steadfast partner in building a nation where honesty and hard work are rewarded. This is a defining moment in our fight against corruption.”
