Presidential Staffer Rosemond Obeng has mounted a robust defense of the government’s flagship anti-corruption initiative, Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), amidst a surge of public impatience and sharp criticism from the legal fraternity regarding the speed of prosecutions.
Speaking in an interview, she urged Ghanaians to remain patient, maintaining that while the government understands the desire for swift arrests, the complexity of the “unprecedented” corruption uncovered necessitates a meticulous adherence to due process.
“For this government, with issues of ORAL, people are expecting to see people behind bars. We promised that those who looted the state and cared less about ordinary Ghanaians would face justice – but justice is a process”
Rosemond Obeng, Presidential Staffer
The ORAL initiative, which has reviewed cases with an estimated value exceeding $20 billion, has become the centerpiece of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration’s 2025 agenda. However, the interval between the public exposure of alleged “lifestyle excesses,” and the actual sentencing of officials has created a vacuum of frustration.
Addressing this, Madam Obeng emphasized that the initiative has already achieved a significant milestone by bringing to light the sheer scale of the rot within the previous administration.
She argued that without the structured investigative framework of ORAL, the public would remain unaware of how individuals on modest official salaries could suddenly afford million-dollar homes and high-end luxury goods.
A defining feature of the current anti-corruption drive, according to the presidential spokesperson, is the Attorney-General’s refusal to prioritize financial settlements over custodial sentences.
Rosemond Obeng revealed that in a move aimed at establishing a strong deterrent, the state, represented by the Attorney-General Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, reportedly rejected a GHS 22 million settlement offer from a suspect, choosing instead to pursue a full criminal trial.
This “conviction-first” strategy is designed to signal that the administration is not merely interested in debt collection but in the total enforcement of the law against those described as “economic saboteurs.”
The Selective Justice Debate
Despite this focus on convictions, the administration faces mounting pressure from legal experts who claim the process has been weaponized for political advantage.
Private legal practitioner and a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications team, Kwesi Botchway Jnr. has been particularly vocal, describing the government’s performance as “abysmal.”
He argued that the ORAL initiative has successfully “turned prosecutions into performances,” where the theater of public opinion takes precedence over the weight of evidence presented in a court of law.
Botchway Jnr pointed to the aggressive media strategy surrounding the arrests of former NPP officials as evidence of “political lawfare,” designed to satisfy a partisan base rather than serve the interests of justice.
The criticism of ORAL is not limited to the pace of prosecution but extends to the perceived selectivity of the Attorney-General’s actions. Critics have highlighted the filing of nolle prosequi in several high-profile cases involving individuals affiliated with the governing NDC party as a contradiction to the “recover all loot,” mantra.
Lawyer Botchway Jnr cited cases involving the Saglemi Housing project and the prosecution of former COCOBOD Chief Executive Steven Opuni as examples where the state has allegedly backtracked, amounting to a potential loss of billions in taxpayer funds.
“The fact that the Constitution gives you a right doesn’t mean you use it arbitrarily and capriciously. You have to use it in a way that is fair to all manner of persons.
“Nobody is against accountability. But accountability should go through constitutionally laid down procedures that respect the rights of persons. The Constitution is clear that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty”
Kwesi Botchway Jnr., Lawyer and NPP Communications Team Member
In response to these allegations, Madam Obeng rejected claims that the NDC overstated its accountability promises during the campaign, asserting that the evidence of state capture and unexplained wealth is far more extensive than initially suspected.
The Presidential staffer revealed that while some suspects are already before the courts, a new wave of verdicts and fresh filings is expected in the coming months as investigations into approximately 200 cases intensify.
“We’ve not seen them before, cases whereby people who were being paid about 5000 a month could afford over 60 designer bags, and could live in a $1 million home,” Madam Obeng noted, defending the necessity of the ORAL framework.
Road Ahead For ORAL
As 2025 draws to a close, the success of Operation Recover All Loot will likely be measured not by the number of press conferences held, but by the finality of the court verdicts achieved.
The administration continues to appeal for time, stressing that rushing complex financial crimes to court without airtight evidence would only benefit the accused. For the government, the stakes remain high; the “reset” agenda requires a demonstrable victory over corruption to maintain the public trust that swept the NDC back into power.
The tension between the public’s demand for immediate accountability and the legal requirement for due process remains the defining challenge of the ORAL initiative.
Whether the government can translate exposure of corruption into restoration of funds remains to be seen as the judiciary begins to process the heavy docket of cases generated by this historic anti-corruption drive.
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