A member of the NDC Communications Team, Mohammed Tauphick, has clarified that the party’s Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) initiative was not introduced as a programme to jail people, but primarily to recover public funds and state resources allegedly lost through corruption.

Speaking on the purpose of ORAL, Tauphick said the initiative was focused on identifying, tracing and recovering resources belonging to the state rather than targeting individuals for imprisonment.

ORAL Focused on Recovering State Resources

Tauphick explained that the core objective of ORAL was to help the state recover funds and assets believed to have been lost through corruption and other financial irregularities.

The ORAL committee was established by then President-elect John Dramani Mahama in December 2024 to gather information on alleged corruption and submit it to the appropriate state institutions for further investigation.

‘We Never Said We Were Coming to Jail People’

According to Tauphick, the NDC did not campaign on a promise to imprison people through ORAL.

He stressed that the initiative should instead be understood as part of a broader effort to protect public resources and ensure that funds belonging to the Ghanaian taxpayer are recovered where wrongdoing is established.

ORAL Reports Submitted for Further Action

The former ORAL committee reviewed thousands of complaints and submitted detailed cases to the government for consideration and further action.

In February 2025, ORAL Chairman Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa presented the committee’s report to President Mahama. The committee said it had received 2,417 complaints, with 230 cases analysed in greater detail.

The report identified several cases involving significant public resources and recommended that the appropriate state institutions pursue the matters.

Recoveries and Accountability Remain Central

The discussion around ORAL has continued as government institutions pursue investigations and possible recoveries.

The Attorney-General has previously disclosed that ORAL-related investigations uncovered GH¢22 million in confirmed tax evasion connected to transactions under the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP).

More recently, Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem-Sai said several cases linked to ORAL had reached advanced stages of prosecution, indicating that some matters arising from investigations have moved into the legal process.

ORAL Debate Continues

Tauphick’s comments add to the continuing public debate over the original purpose of ORAL, the pace of recoveries and the handling of cases arising from investigations.

While the initiative was initially presented around the recovery of state resources, matters involving suspected criminal conduct remain subject to investigation, prosecution and determination through the appropriate legal processes.