From left to right: President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson
Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has taken with a pinch of salt President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s order for KPMG to audit the revenue assurance contract between Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML).
The President, in a statement issued by the Communications Director at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, has directed the Ministry of Finance to furnish KPMG with all necessary documents to aid its audit into the contract.
“The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has appointed KPMG, the reputable Audit, Tax and Advisory Services firm, to conduct an immediate audit into the transaction between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilization Ghana Ltd (SML), a contract which was entered into to enhance revenue assurance in the downstream petroleum sector, the upstream petroleum production and minerals and metals resources value chain.”
“The President has directed the Ministry of Finance and GRA to provide KPMG with whatever assistance they will require for conduct of the audit, and has also directed the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority to suspend the performance of the contract, pending the submission of the audit report, including any payments presently envisaged under its terms”, parts of the statement read.
But to the Minority Leader, the President’s move is nothing but an attempt to whitewash the contract and dissuade Parliament from scrutinizing it.
He wrote on his Facebook:
“President Akufo-Addo’s appointment of KPMG to audit the so-called revenue assurance agreement between Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) has come too late in the day.
“Parliament has already directed the Finance Committee to audit the infamous agreement, and the Committee is actively seized of the matter.
“The President, who should have led this fight in the wake of this scandal, is playing catch-up since Parliament has also directed GRA to suspend all payments to SML.
“This whitewashing attempt by the President in the name of an audit will not dissuade Parliament from looking into this matter to stop the siphoning of state resources into the private pockets of government officials and their crony business partners.”
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