Lawyer and Democracy and Development Fellow in Public Law and Justice at CDD-Ghana, Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, has shared his thoughts on the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) initiative, describing it as a recurring feature of Ghanaian governance.
In an interview on JoyNews’ The Law on Sunday, Prof. Asare noted that the concept of investigating outgoing administrations is not new and has been a common practice under successive governments. However, he acknowledged that the current debates about ORAL’s legality and constitutionality represent a novel development.
“So President Mahama’s ORAL is nothing new; the noise about its illegality and unconstitutionality—that noise is new. But the concept itself of investigating an outgoing government is nothing new, and it will continue,” he said on Sunday, January 19.
His comments come amid growing criticism over whether the initiative operates within the confines of the law or risks being used as a political tool.
Prof. Asare explained that ORAL, as currently constituted, does not have the authority to arrest or detain individuals and has not summoned anyone for investigation. He emphasized that ORAL’s operations remain lawful as long as it refrains from assuming police or prosecutorial powers.
“ORAL would only be unlawful if the team starts to assume police or prosecutorial powers,” Prof. Asare clarified.
According to him, every new government in Ghana tends to launch accountability initiatives to investigate allegations of corruption and mismanagement by their predecessors. He cited historical examples, such as General Sarfo Marfo’s post-government investigations, which even involved foreign agencies.
“Any time we elect a new government, there is some form of ORAL. That happens because, in this country, accountability is very scarce. Governments in power tend not to hold their own members accountable, leading to public complaints and pressure,” he stated.