ORAL press briefings not to run down any political party but account to the public — AG

The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has defended the government’s regular press briefings on the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) anti-corruption drive, stating that the intent is to ensure transparency, not to tarnish any political party.

Some members of the public, particularly within the New Patriotic Party, have criticised the Attorney General, accusing him of engaging in media trials and prejudicing ongoing investigations.

But addressing journalists in Accra on Friday, June 13, Dr. Ayine maintained that the briefings are part of democratic accountability to the people, citing the example of the United States, where state prosecutors regularly brief the press on high-profile cases.

“The United States of America is one of the world’s oldest democracies, and US prosecutors — district attorneys, attorneys, or even the Attorney General — when they conclude investigations, they brief the press on their findings. Sometimes they file the charges and come out of the courtroom to brief the press on those charges,” he explained.

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. So those who think accounting to the people is problematic must understand the meaning of the word. Accountability simply means to explain — to explain one’s actions,” he said.

He stressed that none of his briefings have targeted any political party or aimed to run down any faction.

“In all the press briefings that I have done, I’ve not mentioned or connected any political party to the actions of the people that I arrest and investigate. The idea is not to make any political party or faction in our politics look bad. What we are doing is simply to account to the people of this country,” he added.