John Mahama
In a move seen by many as a calculated attempt to witch-hunt appointees of the outgoing Akufo-Addo administration, President-elect John Dramani Mahama has appointed a team of individuals to spearhead his anti-corruption drive, dubbed Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL).
The team, which comprises: Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah as Chairman, Daniel Domelovo, former Auditor-General, COP (Rtd.) Nathaniel Kofi Boakye, Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner, and Raymond Archer, an investigative journalist, are tasked with receiving and gathering information from the public and other sources on suspected acts of corruption.
John Mahama’s anti-corruption drive is seen as a key plank of his policy platform, which he hopes to implement within his first 120 days in office.
This development comes on the heels of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) return to power, after a campaign that heavily emphasized the need to combat corruption.
Corruption Scandals Under Mahama Regime
Former President John Mahama administration was marred by several corruption scandals that cost Ghana millions of dollars and damaged the country’s reputation.
One of the most notable scandals was the Bus Branding Scandal, where the company Smarttys was found to have over-billed the government by GH¢1.9 million for branding 116 Metro Mass Transit buses.
Then Minister of Transport, Dzifa Attivor, resigned over the scandal, and the government eventually recovered GH¢1,548,608.04 from Smarttys.
Another scandal that rocked the administration was the Mahama ‘Ford Expedition’ Gift Scandal, where President Mahama was accused of receiving a Ford Expedition vehicle worth $60,000 from a Burkinabe contractor, Djibril Kanazoe, who had won two contracts worth over GH¢100 million from the government.
The opposition and civil society organizations accused John Mahama of receiving a bribe, but he denied any wrongdoing.
The GYEEDA Scandal was another major corruption scandal that involved the misuse of funds meant for youth employment program.
An investigation by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni found that the agency had misappropriated millions of dollars, leading to the cancellation of all GYEEDA contracts with service providers except Zoomlion Limited.
The SADA Scandal involved the misappropriation of millions of dollars allocated to the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority.
An investigation found that SADA had paid GH¢32,498,000 to ACICL owned Roland Agambire to plant five million trees, but only 700,000 trees were accounted for.
The authority also spent GH¢15 million on guinea fowls, but only a few birds were found.
Other notable scandals include the NSS Scandal, where officials were found to have embezzled GH¢7.9 million by paying allowances to non-existent service personnel; the Judicial Corruption Scandal, where 180 judicial staff, including 34 judges, were found to have taken bribes; and the Brazil 2014 Fiasco, where the government was forced to send $4 million in cash to Brazil to pay the Black Stars’ appearance fees after the team threatened to boycott a World Cup match.
However, critics have raised concerns that the team’s composition and mandate may be used to witch-hunt appointees of the outgoing Akufo-Addo administration, rather than genuinely tackling corruption.
The NDC’s history with corruption scandals, including the infamous GYEEDA and SADA scandals during Mahama’s first term in office, has led some to question the party’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
Despite these concerns, John Mahama has expressed confidence in the team’s ability to deliver on its mandate.
In a recent address, he emphasized the need for public office holders to account for the trust placed in them and vowed to raise accountability to another level.
The President-elect has expressed confidence in the feasibility of his plan, stating that his administration will work diligently to ensure that all initiatives under his 120-day social contract with Ghanaians are achieved.
Despite this, Mahama has pledged to uphold constitutional principles of probity and transparency, stating that his administration will raise accountability to another level.
He has also emphasized the need to restore public trust in the country’s democratic institutions.
However, only time will tell if the team’s efforts will be genuine and effective in tackling corruption, or if they will be used as a tool for political vendetta.
-BY Daniel Bampoe