Cadman Mills, the brother of the late President John Evans Atta Mills, has criticized the Operationalization of Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), calling it a "sick joke" and "dead on arrival."

In a response to Oliver Barker-Vormawor, the convener of The Fix the Country Movement, who accused his late brother of being soft on corruption, Cadman Mills defended the legacy of the former president.

Barker-Vormawor had claimed that Atta Mills’ approach to governance, specifically his philosophy of being a "father for all," led to a lack of action against corruption during his tenure.

“The legend that Atta Mills was ‘soft on corruption’ because he believed he was ‘father for all’ simply flies in the face of the facts,” Cadman Mills lamented.

He listed several instances where the late president initiated investigations into corruption and attempted to intervene in cases of blatant misconduct.

However, Cadman Mills noted that the structural and legal environment in Ghana makes it challenging to address corruption effectively.

“The problem with Ghana is that conflict of interest, self-dealing, systematic political interference in contract awards, and public officials accepting ‘gifts’ are the norm. As a result, there are simply no effective conflict of interest laws,” he said.

He dismissed ORAL as ineffective without the passage of a Private Member’s Bill to establish robust conflict of interest laws and regulate government contracts.

“As a result, there are simply no effective conflict of interest laws. What you have is legalized and contractual thievery which is almost impossible to prosecute or would languish in our courts for years! Accept that ORAL is dead on arrival as long as there are no laws that explicitly prohibit the Politically Exposed from "bidding" to acquire state assets or government contracts, as well as to engage in government contract adjudication and awards. ORAL without the Private Member Bill is a farce (a sick joke) equivalent to trying to corral a few horses that have bolted while leaving the barn door wide open,” he added.

The Legend that Atta Mills was "soft on corruption" because he believed he was "father for all" simply flies in the face of the facts. How many investigations did Atta-Mills fail to initiate? How many acts of blatant corruption did Atta Mills fail to intervene in to attempt to…

— Cadman Atta Mills (@CadmanAttaMills) January 13, 2025