Joyce Bawa Mogtari, Special Aide to Ghana's President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has given a harsh warning to anybody implicated in corruption charges under the present NPP administration to brace themselves for the full force of the law.

The NDC policy, known as ORAL (Operation retrieve All Loot), aims to retrieve all revenues linked to corruption claims.

The special aide made these remarks in an interview with Channel One TV on Tuesday, December 10, as she underlined the new government's commitment to accountability and budgetary management.

She stated that the most important thing Ghanaians anticipate from the new NDC government is to heal the economy and feed the people, as they are hungry. "We need to revive the economy, and everything else will thrive."

"Ghanaians have given Mahama a massive win to deliver. "We need to recover the looted resources and complete all abandoned projects," Joyce Bawa Mogtari stated.

"He (Mahama) understands that the youth want to see something different. People want to see respect. People expect leaders to accept accountability.

"You are aware that the IPPs currently owe a significant amount of money. Why are they owed money? This was a pretty clear intervention, and if they were paid, we would have power. But we haven't been informed that they have ceased exporting power. So there has to be something wrong. There must be a reason they aren't paying. "Why is investment at an all-time low?" she said.

"There has to be a reason why. Why are we told we have 12,000 kilometers of roads but haven't seen them anywhere? Why are we told that little is being done to combat corruption?

"Look, we got a new finance minister. What efforts has he made, and what has he informed you he is doing to boost the economy? What actions has he announced to boost the economy?"

"Nothing. So the entire country is in limbo, yet people continue to spend. And if we hadn't won the elections, they would have taken the rest of the money and placed it in their wallets before going home to sleep."

Bawumia represents Akufo-Addo's economic failure. "People want to see fiscal responsibility."

She went on to say that now that Mr Mahama is in command of Parliament, he must not rest on his laurels, but must work with a resounding majority to deliver for the good people of Ghana. "I know some of these measures will take place immediately after the transition."

"All young people and males are very interested in ORAL. They want every allegation of corruption examined. They want them prosecuted. They want us to reclaim some of this money. They demand an explanation for why we spent $58 million on the national cathedral, which is taxpayer money. They want to know why we don't have the Pwalugu dam, despite spending $11.8 million. Why are we still facing power distribution issues while ECG owes us over billions of dollars, and even importing meters that no one can use? "These things should be investigated," she emphasized.

Joyce Bawa Mogtari stated unequivocally that the future administration will prioritize the recovery of approximately $58 million allegedly misappropriated for the contentious National Cathedral project.

The National Cathedral project, begun by the outgoing New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, has sparked extensive public controversy and criticism.

The project, which was envisioned as a colossal Christian worship facility and national symbol, has been delayed, criticized, and accused of financial mismanagement.

Bawa Mogtari questioned the justification for spending $58 million, arguing that the investment yielded little return.

She highlighted that the next government is committed to uncovering the full scope of financial irregularities underlying the project.

She promised that a thorough audit and inquiry would be carried out to determine how the funds were used and to bring those responsible for any wrongdoing accountable.

"This is a history that we don't want to revisit too frequently. We want to know what the money was used for and who received it. The $58 million spent on that project is suspicious, and I am sure there is more, but because they are in government, they are disguising how much was spent.

"How can you spend $58 million with nothing to show for it? There are many things we want to do with that piece of land, and I believe we should focus on recovering the resources and putting them to greater use."

MAHAMA’S FIRST 120 DAYS SOCIAL CONTRACT WITH THE PEOPLE OF GHANA

Nominate within the first 14 days the complete list of Cabinet Ministers for parliamentary approval.

Constitute the LEANEST AND MOST EFFICIENT government under the fourth republic in my first 90 days in office.

Establish a robust CODE OF CONDUCT AND STANDARDS for all government officials.

Hold a National Economic Dialogue to discuss the true state of the economy and prepare a homegrown fiscal consolidation programme to guide the budget.

Within my first 90 days in office, scrap the following draconian taxes to alleviate hardships and ease the high cost of doing business: E-levy, COVID levy, 10% levy on bet winnings, and Emissions levy.

Within my first 90 days in office, review taxes and levies on vehicles and equipment imported into the country for industrial and agricultural purposes.

Commence drafting needed legal amendments and prepare for implementing the 24-Hour Economy Policy under the Office of the President.

Establish an Accelerated Export Development Council (AEDC) to promote exports as part of a broader strategy for economic transformation.

Convene a national consultative conference on EDUCATION to build consensus on needed improvements to the sector.

Implement the ‘No-Academic-Fee’ policy for all first-year students in public tertiary institutions—universities, colleges of education, nursing training institutions, etc.)

Introduce the following social interventions: Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities, the Ghana Medical Care Trust (MahamaCares) Fund.

Commence the distribution of free sanitary pads to female students in primary and secondary schools

Institute inquiries and/or forensic audits into the following matters of public interest: The collapse of Indigenous Ghanaian banks and financial institutions at a supposed cost of GHS25 billion, illegal printing of money, the US$58 million National Cathedral scandal, illegal and inflated singlesourced contracts, COVID-19 expenditure scandal, PDS, Agyapa, SML, Ambulance spare parts deal, 13th African Games, Sky Train, Pwalugu Dam, Maths Sets, Galamsey Fraud, missing excavators and tricycles, Sputnik-V, BOST Scandal, and others…

Institute a government policy banning political appointees from purchasing state assets.

Allocate seed money for the establishment of the Women’s Development Bank.

Launch the following priority job creation programmes in the first budget: ‘Adwumawura’ Programme, ‘National Apprenticeship Programme’ and ‘One Million Coders Programme’

Commence the review of the Customs (Amendment) Act 2020 to scrap the law banning the importation of salvaged vehicles to rescue the local automotive industry at Suame Magazine, Kokompe, Abossey Okai, among others.

Lay before parliament a new bill to streamline government scholarship administration, prohibit political appointees from accessing government scholarships, and eliminate political patronage, cronyism, nepotism, and corruption in awarding government scholarships

Ban illegal and new mining activities in forest reserves. Roll out our ‘Tree for Life’ and Blue Water Initiative’ to heal and sustainably harness the environment by turning areas and water bodies degraded by illegal mining into economic and ecological recovery hubs.

Launch ‘The Black Star Experience’ initiative as Ghana’s flagship Culture, Arts and Tourism brand to transform Ghana into a preferred tourism destination.

Commence investigative processes to purge state security agencies of all militia and vigilante elements

Re-open investigations into major unresolved criminal cases including the 2020 election killings, Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence, murder of Ahmed Hussein-Suale and Silas Wulochamey.

Initiate a probe into the man-made disaster caused by the VRA’s spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams that displaced and destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of citizens in the Volta, Eastern, and Greater Accra.

Initiate immediate steps to compensate the flood victims, including those in the Oti, Bono East and Savanna regions.

Carry out a shakeup of all loss-making SOEs and realign them to break even and transition into profit-making.

https://theheraldghana.com/oral-tops-mahamas-120-days-social-contract-special-aide-to-mahama-reveals/