Mahama explains decision to set-up ORAL

President-elect John Dramani Mahama says his decision to set up Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) is to gather information on corruption, which will be passed on to the appropriate government institutions for further investigation.

He assured Ghanaians that ORAL was not a witch-hunting Committee, nor did it have the power to conduct investigations.

He made the remarks on Thursday, when Madam Miriam Montrat, the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, paid a courtesy call on him at his Office at Cantonment in Accra to congratulate him on his election in the December 7 polls.

It would be called that the President-elect, on Wednesday, December 18, appointed Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, as Chairperson of a preparatory team towards the execution of his anti-corruption drive.

Other members of the Team are Daniel Domelevo, a former Auditor-General; Commissioner of Police (COP) Nathaniel Kofi Boakye (rtd); Martin Kpebu, a Private Legal Practitioner; and Raymond Archer, an Investigative Journalist.

The President-elect told the High Commissioner that since he announced the preparatory committee, he thought some people were misunderstanding it. "We're receiving a lot of information about corruption scandals. Some send me texts, others call, and some pass through intermediaries. We want a focal point where all that evidence is directed," Mahama said.

"The committee will assemble the evidence and pass it on to the appropriate government institutions for further investigation."

He noted that there was no budget or expenditure associated with their work, saying, "The team is serving pro bono, and they have no authority to investigate individuals themself".

Touching on the energy sector, President-elect Mahama said the outgoing administration had mismanaged the energy sector and that they had kept the lights on at the expense of huge debts of $2.5 billion.

He said Ghana's energy sector needs urgent surgery and that if care is not taken, it could collapse the whole sector.

He bemoaned the high level of poor governance at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), adding that its losses were so huge.

President-elect Mahama commended Canada for its contributions towards Ghana's socioeconomic development, especially in the northern part of the country, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA),

Madam Miriam Montrat, the Canadian Higher Commissioner to Ghana, congratulated President-elect Mahama on his victory in the December 7 polls.

She commended the President-elect for choosing a woman, Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, as his Vice President-elect.

She further congratulated Prof Opoku-Agyemang's achievement as Vice President-elect and commended her for breaking the glass ceiling.

She said Prof Opoku-Agyemang's achievements would serve as a motivation for women and girls.

Madam Montrat said her country was interested in key areas of the economy such as women empowerment, food security, agriculture, and security.

She also raised the issue of the failure of the outgoing administration to Canadian companies, which had worked for Ghana.

She reiterated the need for creating a conducive investment destination and the need for direct flights between Canada and Ghana.

The High Commissioner extended an invitation to the President-elect to speak at an event in Canada on Ghana's achievements in June 2025.

Present at the meeting were Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament MP for Tongu North and Chairperson for ORAL and Julius Debrah, the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President-elect.

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