Act on ORAL report! …President directs A-G

President Mahama (left) receiving the ORAL report from Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (fourth from right). With them are ORAL team members

President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Attorney-General to launch immediate investigations into the findings contained in the report of the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) Committee with the view to prosecute anyone found liable for corruption and related offences.

Receiving the report of the committee at the Presidency in Accra yesterday, President Mahama said the days where the state was used as a cash cow were over.

“To those who think they can defraud the state and escape justice, let this serve as a strong warning. Ghana is no longer a safe haven for corruption,” he declared.

“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.”

According to President Mahama, the work of the ORAL Committee was a defining moment in Ghana’s fight against corruption and citizens, the media, civil society and public officials must play their respective parts in stemming the tide of corruption.

If all the social partners played their parts, a hopeful President Mahama said “we will build a Ghana that is just, transparent and prosperous for generations to come”.

The resources of the country, the President reiterated, belonged to the people and his administration would judiciously use same for their collective good.

The diversion of public funds for personal gains, the President posited undermines development, erodes public trust and deepens inequality.

Such appalling actions, he said necessitated the constitution of the ORAL Committee to ensure that what has been wrongfully taken from the state was restored to its rightful owners; the Ghanaian people.

To him, the work of the committee which included recoveries of state assets from private persons was a testament of his government’s approaches to accountability and good governance.

“Let me assure the Ghanaian people that the work does not end here.

The recommendations of the report will carefully be studied and where legal actions and investigations are required, they’ll be pursued without fear or favour.

“Every pesewa recovered will be channelled back into national development and mechanisms will be strengthened to prevent such losses in the future,” he stated.

Chairman of the committee and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, presenting the report to the President said the team in total received 2,417 complaints through various means of communication.

Out of the number, he said 230 have been analysed which form the basis of the report.

BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI