President-elect John Dramani Mahama has addressed growing concerns and misconceptions surrounding the newly announced Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative. Speaking to the media, Mahama clarified that ORAL’s primary role is to serve as a repository for evidence of corruption, not as an investigative body.
“With regards to ORAL, I announced the preparatory committee, and people are confused,” Mahama acknowledged. “We are receiving a lot of information on things that are going wrong—corruption scandals and all that. Some send me texts on my phone, some call me, others pass through other people. We want a focal point where all the evidence can be directed so that they can assemble it once we come into office.”
Mahama emphasized that ORAL would not conduct investigations but would forward collected evidence to appropriate institutions. “ORAL is not going to be investigating people. It is going to gather evidence and pass on the evidence to the institutions that are supposed to do that kind of work. If people have information they think is useful in the fight against corruption, pass it on to the team.”
He also stressed that the initiative is operating without financial incentives or hidden costs. “The team is not expecting any payment. There is no budget associated with it,” he said, addressing rumors of potential financial improprieties linked to the operation.