Earlier this week, the Minority in Parliament had stated that the ORAL committee was unlawful and urged its former government appointees to refuse any call from the committee in relation to investigating alleged cases of corruption. According to them, the committee is unconstitutional.
In support of this position, the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Akyem Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea in an interview on Saturday 18, on JoyNews’ Newsfile with Samson Lardy, stated that, “the committee is very unlawful, it is populist”. He also argued that the committee is no platform for whistleblowing as Ghanaians are made to believe, has no legal backing and should not be tolerated.
In defining the term whistleblower, the Former MP stated that such a person is an individual who is low-profile and strategically provides sensitive information to the appropriate body for them to investigate and take action.
From the onset the committee was set up, there have been various interviews and statements made by the chairperson, Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, in relation to certain corruption issues, and Mr. Akyea in addressing the manner in which the committee is conducting itself, criticized that the investigations by the committee should not be done in a public manner.
Their acts should be in accordance with the law and not with cameras. He stated, “Why don’t you gather information discreetly? Whatever they are doing, they should do it in accordance with the law and stop going around with cameras.”
His remarks are in support of the various arguments raised against the committee by the opposition party, NPP and the public criticisms, as well as various legal practitioners in the country.
Many have argued that it does not make sense for the concept of the ORAL to exist given that there are government institutions capable of undertaking same mandates. In light of this concern, the ORAL team has been described as an instrument being used for political witch-hunting, or better still, an instrument to settle political scores.
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