The ORAL Brigade’s support for the NDC’s “Resetting Ghana” manifesto highlights their commitment to holding leaders accountable.
Led by Osman Ayariga at a press conference today at Press Center, the group’s call for youth participation demonstrates a push for change, particularly focused on the party’s Operation Recover All Loot initiative.
This growing youth movement signals a desire to challenge the current administration and demand greater transparency and accountability.
Attach is the press statement
PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY OSMAN AYARIGA, CONVENER OF THE ORAL BRIGADE ON GOVERNMENTAL CORRUPTION AND STEALING OF STATE FUNDS BY NPP FUNCTIONARIES
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press,
Fellow Ghanaians
We welcome you all to this historic press conference.
About a week ago, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama announced the Operation Recover all Loot (ORAL) initiative as part of the policies to be implemented by the next NDC government to hold all corrupt government officials accountable. We of the ORAL Brigade endorse and identify with this operation. We take this opportunity to commend His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for waging this crusade against the wanton corruption, nepotism and excesses of this government.
The ORAL Brigade is a group of like-minded young people who believe in the tenets of probity and accountability and share in the promise of the NDC’s Operation Recover All loot as contained in the recently out-doored manifesto dubbed Resetting Ghana. In furtherance of the (ORAL) objectives, we are organizing a picketing event at the Ministry of Finance and subsequently at the Jubilee house and any Government establishment involved or suspected to be involved in corruption or corruption related matters to demand immediate and decisive action regarding several troubling financial improprieties that have recently come to light.
Our concerns are rooted in the need for transparency and accountability in the management of public funds. We have observed, with increasing alarm, the following issues that necessitate urgent intervention:
1. Payments to Service Ghana Auto Group: Allegations have surfaced regarding payments of about $34million dollars to the Service Ghana Auto Group for the supply of spare parts, a company associated with the President’s daughter. Despite the denial by the ministry of health that no payments had been made, there is ample evidence to the effect that Service Ghana Auto Group Limited received not less than $10million dollars in February 2024 in addition to earlier payments made between 2020-2023. These payments were flagged by the Auditor General as being irregular and without justification. The Auditor General found, amongst other things, inflated invoices submitted by the company, reliance on staff of the National Ambulance Service paid by the state for its maintenance, breach of maintenance schedules and procedures. The conclusion of the Auditor General raises fundamental issues of value for money and corruption which must attract the attention and action of the Ministry of Finance which is clothed with the responsibility of managing our public finances prudently and efficiently. The ministry must therefore with immediate effect take steps to retrieve the amounts disbursed as well as abrogate any contractual arrangement with Service Ghana Auto Group related to the Ambulances maintenance.
2. Dubious SML Contracts: Another vehicle used to siphon state resources is the controversial SML contract entered between the Ministry of Finance and SML Group for revenue assurance in the petroleum sector. KPMG audit report of the contract reveals that the said contract failed to secure parliamentary approval which ought to have been secured. It also found amongst others that the said agreement fails to meet the requisite value for money test, which failure resulted in the lost of revenues to the state. In excess of over Ghc1billion has already been paid to SML for no work done.
We find it even troubling that amidst such blatant violations of our laws, the President rather directed a renegotiation of the already unlawfully-executed contract. The ministry should therefore be minded to retrieve the over Ghc1billion paid to SML under the illegal contractual arrangement and at the same time put an end to any existing contractual relationship with SML to halt this heartless dissipation of our limited resources.
It is our conviction that the least the ministry of finance can do after having subjected Ghanaians to the Domestic Debt Exchange programme is to ensure prudence in the management of our scarce resources. A proactive response to the above stated demands would be appreciated by the Ghanaian people than the apology the minister purported to offer to the many Ghanaians affected by the Domestic Debt Exchange program. We have reached the zenith of our patience as Ghanaian youth as we wake up daily to the horrifying revelations of corruption and mismanagement of resources that could have been prudently invested in our present and future. The recent revelations of mismanagement and corruption associated with the hosting of the All-African Games signals the unwillingness of public officials to stop their appetite for corruption. We have come to the realisation that the current managers of our economy are only concerned about their livelihoods and that of their children with little regard for the collective aspirations of the Ghanaian people.
As a result, on the 4th of September 2024 (04/09/2024), the ORAL Brigade will be assembling at the Ministry of Finance to voice our demands and ensure that our concerns are heard. Our purpose is to urge the Minister of Finance to take immediate action to investigate these matters thoroughly, halt any questionable payments, and recover funds where necessary.
We believe that this picketing is vital to restore public confidence in our financial management systems and to reinforce the principle that public resources must be managed with the highest levels of integrity and transparency. This is just the first of many planned protests by the nation-conscious ORAL Brigade aimed at demanding accountability in public financial management.
We invite all concerned citizens, stakeholders and the 1.9 million unemployed youth who have lost hope to join us in this peaceful picketing to demand accountability and ensure that our government remains accountable to its people.
Thank you for your attention, and we look forward to your support in this crucial endeavour.
LONG LIVE GHANA
GOD BLESS OUR HOME LAND
GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
Contact Persons
Osman Ayariga Esq. 0243846252
Philemon Laar Esq. 0245374896
Hamza Suhuyini Esq 0244494049
