Market researcher and volunteer associate at IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Kay Cudjoe, has cautioned the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) that it risks betraying the trust of Ghanaians if its flagship anti-corruption drive, Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL), falters.
Speaking eight months into the Mahama administration, Cudjoe argued that the government’s return to power in January 2025 was not merely a transfer of authority but a covenant with the people.
According to him, that covenant was clear: to recover stolen funds and decisively punish corruption. “No convictions, no Republic,” he declared, stressing that citizens voted for accountability, not rhetoric.
“Eight months on, Ghanaians are restless. They did not vote for ORS, Operation Recover Selectively. They voted for a clean slate. They voted for a cleansing fire. They voted for a government brave enough to look its own financiers in the eye and say: ‘Not even you will be spared’”.
Kay Cudjoe
Yet, eight months on, he lamented, the government is moving slowly, giving room for excuses, legalistic delays, and whispers of deals being cut to shield politically connected individuals. “Excuses are stacked like files on a judge’s bench. Legal jargon is stretched thin. Foot-dragging has turned into policy,” Cudjoe said.
High Profile Cases
He highlighted several high-profile cases that remain unresolved despite overwhelming public concern. These include the ECG Containers Scandal, where over 2,600 containers were traced to Tema Port, with 54 still missing and liabilities nearing GH¢1.5 billion.
He also mentioned the National Service Scheme case, involving nearly 10,000 alleged ghost names used to secure a GH¢30.7 million loan; and the PDS concession collapse, which cost Ghana US$190 million in Millennium Challenge Corporation funds.
Other cases he cited were the Kelni GVG telecoms contract, valued at US$178 million, now marked for non-renewal; the National Cathedral project, which saw over GH¢339 million disbursed with little to show; and the SML and GRA contracts, with GH¢1.4 billion paid between 2018 and 2023.
There was also the mention of the the COVID-19 procurement controversies, including overpriced vaccines and airport testing charges; and the BOST contaminated fuel saga, where millions of litres of bad product were sold.
Kay Cudjoe also pointed to the Pwalugu Dam project, where US$12 million was spent before termination of a nearly US$1 billion project, and to continuing issues in galamsey operations, which he argued have persisted under political protection.
He listed further concerns such as the Public Procurement Authority “Contracts for Sale” case, the La Bianca Customs matter, the SSNIT software and hotels controversies, the COCOBOD fertilizer contracts, and the GH¢21 billion banking sector clean-up.
“These are not shadows or rumours. They are files lying on government desks,” he remarked. In his view, the failure to secure convictions and recover stolen resources would represent a betrayal of the social contract the NDC signed with the electorate.
“Every delay is betrayal. Every excuse is complicity. Justice delayed is justice denied; justice selective is justice dead”.
Kay Cudjoe
Demonstrated Capacity
To stress his point, Kay Cudjoe argued that the government has already demonstrated its capacity to take bold constitutional steps, referencing the removal of a sitting Chief Justice under Article 146 in the past.
For him, if that could be done, then prosecuting corruption and recovering stolen funds should not be beyond reach. He further noted that even within the NDC, concerns are being raised about the integrity of ORAL.
At the recent 5th Annual NDC Lawyers Conference, the party’s General Secretary, Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, openly cautioned against selective prosecutions and backroom deal-making. Mr Kwetey said, “If it’s to be done, it must be done well. And to be done well means it has to be thoroughly done, proper due diligence. The job must be properly done.”
In remarks interpreted as a thinly veiled warning to party insiders, Kwetey added, “Some among us are busy trying to cut deals with people who are supposed to be prosecuted. Some among us are trying to cut deals. I’m not mentioning names. But a time would come when we may have to… Some know what I am talking about. We are hearing your names. You know yourselves.”
Kay Cudjoe said such statements show that doubts about the seriousness of ORAL are not limited to opposition parties or civil society but are being voiced within the ruling party itself.
He argued that the credibility of the government’s anti-corruption drive depends on ensuring that “not financiers, not ministers, not MPs, not allies” are spared when implicated.
For him, the Attorney General must lead prosecutions with courage, backed by the independence of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, the Economic and Organized Crime Office, and the Auditor-General. “Justice is not abstract, it must be visible, measurable, and indiscriminate,”he said.
Kay Cudjoe concluded with a stark warning: if ORAL collapses under political pressure, if cronies are shielded, or if suspects remain suspects forever, then the NDC government will have broken its covenant with the people.
“The people of Ghana voted for Operation Recover All Loots, not Operation Recover Selectively. If ORAL dies in committee rooms, if cronies buy immunity, if suspects remain suspects forever, then this government will have betrayed the covenant it swore before its people. Ghanaians are watching. We are counting. We will not forget”.
Kay Cudjoe
As pressure mounts, Kay Cudjoe’s intervention adds to growing calls for the Mahama administration to back its words with actions. Whether ORAL succeeds may define not just the government’s credibility but also the public’s faith in Ghana’s democratic promise.
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