Former Member of Parliament for Buem, Daniel Asiamah has launched a full-throated endorsement of Operation Recover All the Loot (ORAL), describing it as the most sensible group ever created.
He said the group’s duty to “gather information” from the public was important in the fight against corruption.
In the aftermath of his election victory in the December polls, President John Mahama constituted an anti-corruption team dubbed ORAL to gather information on government corruption perpetrated by the outgoing administration and its officials.
It was also in fulfillment of a pledge the new president made on the campaign trail last year.
The members of the team are Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a former Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo; a retired Commissioner of Police, COP (Rtd.) Nathaniel Kofi Boakye; legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu and Raymond Archer who is an investigative journalist.
Making submissions during Star FM‘s Weekly Review segment with Naa Dedei Tettey on the ORAL team, Mr. Asiamah said the establishment was wise.
“ORAL is the most sensible group ever created. The group is to gather information from the public. They don’t have prosecutorial powers. And I’ve not heard whether somebody has been invited or summoned to tell them where they got that. They are just gathering information.
“It is better than NIB [National Investigations Bureau] inviting you without any information you’ve heard. And you enter that tall walled building and sit there the whole day and sometimes you are not asked of anything,” he said.
The former lawmaker laid into the Minority caucus for a press conference it held earlier this week during which it attacked ORAL as needless and unlawful.
During the engagement, Member of Parliament for Suame, John Darko, urged officials in the previous administration not to honour invitations by the ORAL team.
In response, Mr Asiamah branded the news conference as an unnecessary stunt.
“It is the most useless press conference they have ever done. Who has been invited?” the former Buem MP quizzed. They just want to tell the whole world that they have also come to Parliament.”
