Daniel Yao Domelevo, the Board Chairman of the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO), has clarified his recent comments regarding the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL).
According to Daniel Yao Domelevo, his recent comments regarding the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) were taken out of context.
He clarified that he acknowledged the work being done by AG, EOCO, and OSP, but expressed dissatisfaction about the legal system, the framework of fighting corruption.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 11, Mr Domelevo explained, “I think what I said has been taken out of context because almost all of what you have listened to is an excerpt that KSM put out, not the full interview”.
He added, “If you had listened to the full interview, I acknowledged the work being done by AG, EOCO, OSP and all others. And I even said that I am not satisfied, not because I was expecting that convictions would have been made by now or monies would have been recovered by now, but my dissatisfaction is about the legal system, the framework of fighting corruption”.
Daniel Domelevo, the former Auditor-General and a member of the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) team, in his earlier interview with KSM, fumed over the lack of loot recovered so far in the nine months of the John Mahama government.
Domelevo described the Attorney General’s procedure in the ORAL cases as snail speed.
According to Daniel Domelevo, nine months is not a small thing.
He emphasised that before Ghanaians realised that President John Mahama would be done with the quarter.
The former Auditor-General noted that culprits and their lawyers are praying for a change in government.
Speaking in an interview, Daniel Domelevo stated, “With the briefing that the Attorney General has been giving, a lot of work is going on, but am I satisfied? No. I can’t see the end of the tunnel, not to talk of the light at the end of the tunnel”.
“The procedure currently being used is very slow. Nine months is not small. Before we realise, we’ll be done with the quarter.”
He added, “In fact, the prayer of the culprits and their lawyers is that there should be a change in government. Then you hear nolle prosequi, then our money is gone.
It begs one question: were they prepared before coming to office? Because when I look at the quantum of money we should recover and the snail speed at which we are moving, I wonder when we are going to get there,” he lamented.
He further added, “I think we have to change the speed at which we are moving and let people gain the confidence that things are moving and moving very fast. We need to change the legal framework.
If the government refuses to make these changes, it only tells me that either they are doing the same thing, they are also stealing, or they have the intention of stealing”.
Also, Kofi Bentil, a private legal practitioner, has said that the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) was overhyped and it is under-delivering.
According to Kofi Bentil, despite his criticism of ORAL performance, he maintains his support for the overall goal of fighting corruption.
Speaking on The Key Points on TV3, Saturday, September 27, Kofi Bentil stated, “ORAL was overhyped and it is under-delivering. But I support the call to fight corruption”.
Listen to him in the video below: