ORAL: You have nothing to fear if you are not corrupt – Ablakwa

The Chairman of the five-member Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has assured the public that the team will not embark on a witch-hunting campaign against public officials.

According to Ablakwa, the committee is focused on gathering evidence regarding looted state assets and taxpayers’ money, rather than pursuing personal vendettas against innocent citizens.

His comments come amid public debate surrounding the committee, with some suggesting that members might target certain public officials for personal reasons.

Speaking in a recent media interview, the MP for North Tongu stated:

Let me assure the Ghanaian people that this team will not carry out a witch-hunt. Those who are not witches have nothing to fear. They will not be hunted. If you have not planted, you have not looted.

Let’s be clear, this is a fact-finding team, an evidence-gathering team. And they are only going to present the evidence to the state institutions, including the Attorney General, to prosecute, to do their work and to recover the loot for the people of this country.

Ablakwa emphasised that the members of the team are experienced and capable of diligently fulfilling their mandate:

What really matters is that these are people who have done considerable work when it comes to anti-corruption, when it comes to exposing the rot in our country. And they are people who we can trust to help us recover the loot.

He further assured that taxpayers would bear no cost for the committee’s work, as members have resolved to forgo salaries, allowances, per diems, and fuel coupons.

The five-member team was appointed by President-elect John Dramani Mahama ahead of the official commencement of his term on 7 January 2025. Tasked with gathering information from the public and other sources on suspected corruption cases, the team is preparing for the implementation of ORAL.

The ORAL committee is chaired by Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu, and includes former Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo, retired Commissioner of Police Nathaniel Kofi Boakye, private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu, and investigative journalist Raymond Archer.

This initiative is part of Mahama’s pledge to recover looted state funds and prosecute corrupt officials, particularly from the outgoing Akufo-Addo administration.