Member of government’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) Team, also former Auditor General, Daniel Yao Domelevo has responded to critics of the ORAL’s activities.
Certain politicians, especially of the opposition party have touted the anti-corruption team of government, an instrument being used to settle political scores.
This follows the team’s recent visits to some areas in the country, in their quest to gather evidence of illegal sale of government lands and properties that might have taken place under the previous administration.
Clarifying the mandate of the team, Mr. Domelovo explained that contrary to the witch-hunting allegations by the opposition, the ORAL only seeks to verify information on illegal sales of state properties rather than investigating, adding that there is a distinction between the two terms.
“What we are doing is essentially a validation mission.”
“Validation is simply confirming what exists on the ground. If this were an investigation, we would call all parties, ask questions, and seek answers. For now, we are gathering data to ensure accuracy in our reports,” he said.
Moreover, it is important to verify allegations of illegal state property sales in order to provide the President with an accurate report, according to the former Auditor General.
“We cannot just sit in our offices, hear claims like those from the Lomotey/Adotey family about their demolished property, and include them in our report without verifying. The presidency might question our findings if there’s no evidence on the ground.”
Furthermore, “we are not accusing anyone. Before establishing any guilt, there must be an investigation. My background as an auditor reminds me that preliminary findings often change when rebutted with evidence. Our job is not to accuse but to verify,” he stated.
Since its inception as a government instument to lead the charge in ascertaining evidence of corruption under the previous administration, the minority in parliament have described activities of the ORAL team as political witch-hunting. The leadership of the caucus recently announced that persons invited by the outfit should resist.
However, in a response to critics of the activities of the ORAL team, the anti-corruption body expressed that persons who have nothing to hide have no need to be scared by their activies.
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