Former Member of Parliament for Sekondi and former Minister for Tourism, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, has questioned the feasibility of the government’s claim that it can recover $21 billion from stolen state assets through the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) initiative.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, Mr Mercer argued that most of the alleged funds have already been disbursed and spent, making recovery practically impossible.
“$21 billion is big — that Mr Mahama promised through his (ORAL) committee that we are going to recover for Ghana. We are waiting for them to recover it,” he remarked.
He cited the National Cathedral project as an example, questioning how monies already utilised could be retrieved.
“We were told that some $100 million or $80 million has been spent and that they were going to recover that money from the project. How are you going to do it? Contractors have been paid, people have worked and received remuneration. You tell Ghanaians that you were going to recover the money — how are you going to do it?” he asked.
His comments followed concerns raised by former Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo, who criticised the delay in prosecuting those implicated in the ORAL investigations, describing the nine-month wait as too long.
Mr Domelevo, who served on the ORAL committee, had earlier revealed that the State could potentially recover $21 billion from various stolen assets.
Mr Mercer, however, maintained that while accountability is essential, government efforts should be grounded in realism about the recoverability of funds and the state of the assets involved.
ORAL presented over 2000 cases of possible corruption cases to the Attorney-General.
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