ORAL: Lack of prosecutions after nine months unacceptable – Domelevo

Former Auditor-General and member of the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) team, Daniel Yao Domelevo, has criticised the government’s slow pace in prosecuting corruption-related cases involving former public officials, describing the situation as “deeply disappointing” and “a betrayal of public trust.”

Speaking in an interview on The KSM Show aired on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, Mr. Domelevo said it was unacceptable that, nine months into President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, not a single case had been fully prosecuted, despite the vast amount of evidence gathered by ORAL and related investigative agencies.

“I am not satisfied at all. This is because I can’t even see the tunnel, let alone talk about the light at the end of the tunnel,” he lamented. “In fact, the prayer of the culprits and their lawyers is that there should be a change in government, and then the new one will enter a nolle prosequi, and our money is gone.”

Mr. Domelevo warned that the continued delays could erode public confidence in the Mahama administration’s anti-corruption commitment, stressing that the Attorney-General’s current legal approach appears overly bureaucratic and slow.

“The procedure that the current Attorney-General is using is going to be very difficult. Nine months is not a small amount of time. Before we know it, we will have finished the term of President Mahama. So, I think we have to change the speed at which we are moving,” he cautioned.

The Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative was launched in December 2024 as part of President Mahama’s anti-corruption drive to retrieve misappropriated public funds and hold former government officials accountable. The initiative is a citizen-driven recovery taskforce, chaired by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and supported by renowned governance advocates, including Mr. Domelevo, Dr. Audrey Gadzekpo, and Mr. Vitus Azeem.

ORAL’s mandate includes gathering public complaints on alleged misuse of state resources, verifying claims through technical audits, and forwarding credible cases to the Attorney-General’s Department and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for action. The initiative was also designed to recover stolen assets at no cost to the state, relying on volunteer expertise and public collaboration.

By June 2025, ORAL had reportedly submitted 33 corruption-related dockets to the Attorney-General’s office. These cases allegedly involve inflated contracts, embezzlement, and procurement irregularities under the previous administration. Yet, according to Domelevo, none of these cases have reached the prosecution stage, with several files still undergoing “review” and “validation.”

Governance experts have echoed Domelevo’s concerns, warning that the failure to act swiftly could embolden corrupt actors and weaken the deterrent effect of Mahama’s anti-graft campaign. Some analysts have also suggested that political caution and the complexity of the legal process may be contributing to the delays.

Mr. Domelevo, however, dismissed such explanations, arguing that political will and urgency are more critical than procedural perfection.

“When people steal from the public purse, they are stealing from hospitals, from schools, from pensioners, and from the youth who are unemployed. Justice delayed is justice denied — and the longer we wait, the more the public loses faith,” he said.

He further urged the President to personally demand progress reports from the Attorney-General and to empower ORAL with prosecutorial support, logistical resources, and public transparency tools to keep citizens informed about case developments.

Civil society organisations, including the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) and the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), have also called for the publication of a periodic anti-corruption dashboard detailing the status of all ORAL-referred cases.

Mr. Domelevo concluded his remarks by reaffirming his commitment to the initiative’s mission, but warned that without visible results soon, the ORAL campaign risks being perceived as “a symbolic exercise rather than a genuine accountability mechanism.”

“The people of Ghana are watching. They voted for accountability, not excuses. If we fail to prosecute those who looted the state, we will be no different from the people we are criticising,” he said firmly.

The Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) initiative remains one of the Mahama administration’s most ambitious governance reforms, but growing frustration over the pace of prosecutions is intensifying public debate about whether the government can deliver on its promise to recover stolen public funds and ensure justice without fear or favour.