ACCRA (Reuters) – Ghana’s President-elect John Dramani Mahama has named an anti-corruption team to gather information on suspected graft, his transition team said in a statement on Wednesday.
Mahama, the main opposition candidate in a Dec. 7 presidential election he won with around 56% of the vote, has promised to recover corruption proceeds and hold perpetrators accountable when he assumes office next month.
An anti-graft team has been set up in preparation. Its chair, MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah, is the chairman of the parliament’s Committee on Assurances who has previously flagged suspected state corruption.
The other three members include a former auditor-general, a private legal practitioner, an investigative journalist and an ex-police officer known for handling high-profile robbery cases.
The former auditor-general, Daniel Dumelovo, was removed from his role after investigating suspected financial infractions that occurred under the outgoing government.
Opposing corruption and recovering lost assets were among Mahama’s key campaign promises.
“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.
Mahama is an ex-president returning as the West African nation’s next leader eight years after losing power. He drew criticism during his 2012-2016 rule over allegations of political corruption, although he was not personally tainted.
(Reporting by Christian Akorlie and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Peter Graff)
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