Understaffing at AG’s office hindering prosecution of ORAL cases, recovery of state funds – Martin Kpebu

A former member of the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) committee, Martin Kpebu, has blamed understaffing at the Attorney-General’s Department for the inability to effectively pursue cases identified by the committee and recover alleged stolen state funds. He said although the ORAL committee had identified cases of alleged corruption and financial wrongdoing, the lack of sufficient prosecutors at the Attorney-General’s (AG) Office was affecting efforts to take legal action against those implicated.

Speaking in a follow-up interview on Joy FM on Wednesday, November 4, Mr Kpebu argued that the successful recovery of state assets depended on the ability of prosecutors to take up the cases and pursue them through the courts. He explained that the recruitment of additional prosecutors, supported by adequate remuneration, would strengthen the department’s capacity to handle the cases and ensure that monies allegedly taken from the state are recovered.

“There is a perennial problem of the AG’s office being understaffed. They don’t have enough staff. So, in these ORAL matters, I said the real game changer is the recruitment of experienced prosecutors and investigators to help with the work,” he said, “The next point is that, how far is the recruitment of more investigators and prosecutors, and of course the remuneration.

Because I am also aware that in the Attorney General’s chamber, the remuneration is a big issue; they are not well remunerated. You want to recover billions, and the person is paid next to nothing; no, that won’t get the result. To recruit top-notch people, the salary must be good, and from the little that I know, that salary cannot attract top-notch prosecutors and investigators,” he added.

According to him, identifying cases alone would not guarantee the recovery of public funds without the necessary prosecutorial resources to pursue them. His comments come amid controversy over a $21.19 billion potential recovery figure announced by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the immediate past chairman of the ORAL Committee. Mr Ablakwa said the amount could potentially be recovered from 36 major cases, high-value cases and land-related alleged state asset losses.

READ ALSO: ORAL: Ghana could retrieve $21.19bn from stolen state assets However, Mr Kpebu maintained that the $21.19 billion figure was Mr Ablakwa’s personal assessment and was not an amount collectively assessed and agreed upon by members of the committee.