Lawyer and activist, Oliver Barker-Vormawor has cast doubt on the success of the Mahama administration’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), warning that without deep institutional and legislative reforms, the initiative is unlikely to achieve its objectives.
Speaking on the government’s anti-corruption drive in an interview on The Point of View on Channel One TV on Wednesday, September 24, the Fix The Country Movement convener said ORAL risks becoming another symbolic gesture without addressing the root causes of corruption.
“For me, from the very beginning, when the president put in place that preparatory committee before he assumed office, I kept saying that sadly became a letter box for whistleblowing,” Barker-Vormawor said.
He noted that rather than serving as a platform to propose meaningful structural solutions, the committee focused on collecting tips and reports, with little effort made to tackle the systemic issues that allow corruption to persist.
“I was hoping they were coming to think through structural reasons why this could fail and, for those reasons, we would be thinking about holistic legislative and institutional reforms,” he added.
Barker-Vormawor stressed that without such reforms, ORAL will likely struggle to deliver lasting results.
“That was not the product of what they did, and I don’t think that ORAL can succeed without those reforms,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama, during his first media encounter on Wednesday, September 10, revealed that under ORAL, significant progress has been made, with more than 200 cases currently under investigation and about 80 individuals interrogated so far.
Mahama assured Ghanaians that his government is actively pursuing perpetrators on multiple fronts and remains determined to ensure accountability, recover stolen assets, and restore public trust.
“Our insistence on doing things the right way may have afforded those who have looted our resources. But let me be clear, it will not grant them permanent escape. Across multiple fronts, active pursuit and persecution are well underway under ORAL. Over 200 cases are under active investigation with about 80 people interrogated so far,” he stated.
Source:Lovinghananews.com
