By Anthony Adongo Apubeo, GNA
Bolgatanga, Aug. 14, GNA – Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, says the government’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative is making significant progress and Ghanaians will soon begin to see the results of investigations and prosecutions.
He said all investigations into the 34 cases developed from the preliminary work of the ORAL Committee had been completed, with preliminary findings made and several of the cases being prepared for filing in court.
“On record, ORAL is doing a fantastic job, and the people of Ghana will begin to see the results of the prosecutions sooner than later,” Dr Ayine said.
At a citizen engagement at Bolgatanga, as part of President John Dramani Mahama’s Resetting Ghana Agenda tour of the Upper East Region, Dr Ayine explained that the investigations were being conducted carefully to ensure that the government’s anti-corruption drive did not amount to political persecution.
He said the investigations went beyond the work of state investigative agencies, including the Bureau of National Intelligence and the Economic and Organised Crime Office, but also involved forensic audits where necessary.
He stated that the forensic audit of the National Cathedral project, commissioned by President Mahama, formed part of the broader effort to establish the facts and ensure accountability.
Dr Ayine also rejected claims by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that ORAL-related cases were being delayed or that the Attorney General was losing cases in court.
He said the government had already filed five corruption-related cases within its first year, describing it as a record under the Fourth Republic.
The Attorney General cited several previous corruption cases to demonstrate the length of time such prosecutions had taken under successive governments.
He said the case involving the Mr Kwabena Adu-Buahene, the former boss of the National Signals Bureau was progressing, with the prosecution having presented documentary evidence on the movement of GH¢16.5 million from a public account into a private account and its subsequent use.
He stressed that ORAL was not limited to the 34 dockets developed from the committee’s report, adding that investigations were also being pursued into other matters, including the Mr Denis Miracles Aboagye, the former boss of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Local Government.
He therefore urged Ghanaians to judge the initiative by its eventual outcomes rather than what he described as negative narratives surrounding the prosecutions.
Dr Ayine further assured Ghanaians that President Mahama had directed that the anti-corruption drive must be conducted professionally and without persecution of political opponents.
He said the President would not approve any attempt by the Attorney General’s Office to use ORAL as a tool to persecute political opponents.
“I want to emphasise the fact that His Excellency the President, as far as ORAL is concerned, will never approve that in my capacity as Attorney General, we engage in any persecution of a political opponent,” he said.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/ Christabel Addo
Reporter: Anthony Adongo Apubeo
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