Implement ORAL within law!
A project termed ‘Operation Recover All Loot’ (ORAL) envisioned by the President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has certainly started being part of the public discourse.
The ORAL is intended to investigate cases of corruption, recover misappropriated state resources and prosecute offenders.
To prove that the pledge to undertake ORAL is not just an empty campaign promise, the President-elect has put together a five-member committee whose work would be geared towards the fulfilment of his vision.
To constitute this committee weeks before his inauguration on January 7, 2025 shows how serious Mr Mahama wishes to fight corruption in the country.
The Ghanaian Times welcomes the ORAL project and its committee and extends best wishes to the committee to discharge its duties in the best interest of the country.
In that regard, it must not be seen as being used to settle personal scores, but stick to its mandate, which certainly is for the public good.
Any attempt to drift from the mandate, which The Ghanaian Times believes is a well thought-out scheme, will certainly cause ORAL to suffer public disaffection.
Now, the question is who exactly is the ORAL targeted at?
Will members or known supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the soon-to-be ruling party, found complicit in wrong dealings under the current administration equally be held accountable?
In spite of their differences and usual conflicts, some politicians and other public officials are friends and can extend certain favours to one another even if in corrupt or unlawful ways.
It is everyone’s hope that the ORAL would not be seen as a political witch-hunt tool to persecute others just because they are on the other side of the political divide.
That is to say corruption in the country must be fought in such a way that no one shall be exempt because of a certain privileged background.
It is unfortunate that in spite of the anti-corruption efforts by successive administrations over the years, corruption persists in the country and even worsens every year.
What have been the hindrances to the work of anti-corruption agencies or institutions like the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) such that they have not been effective in their individual mandates as expected?
It is unfortunate to hear people saying corruption is endemic in the country but they are right because the signs to prove their position are evident.
The experts say endemic corruption exists where and when corruption has become an integral part of a state’s economic, social and political system, and most people have no alternatives to dealing with corrupt officials.
It is sad that upon the mention of the word corruption in the country, most people think of only politicians and other public officials.
Though not a good comment about a dear country, it can be said that it has become so warped a society that every rich and wealthy person is accorded special respect without any care about the source of the riches or wealth.
We all hope that the anti-corruption institutions, the security services, the courts and the larger society would live as expected to a large extent and help achieve the objective of the ORAL.
And one thing ORAL should kick against is the massing up of party supporters at the courts when a politician is being prosecuted.
