President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has taken swift action following the report presented to him by accounting and auditing firm, KPMG, on the agreement between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML).
The President has issued a series of directives after carefully reviewing the report. A statement released by the Presidency on Wednesday, April 24 outlined the directives, stating that the upstream petroleum audit and minerals audit services, which have not yet commenced and no payments have been made, may be terminated. This decision was made to prevent significant revenue leakages.
Furthermore, the President has instructed the Ministry and GRA to conduct a comprehensive technical needs assessment, value-for-money assessment, and stakeholder engagements before implementing these services.
Regarding the transaction audit and external price verification services, it was recommended that they may also be terminated as GRA did not fully benefit from those services due to a lack of monitoring. The reliance on SML for external price verification was found to be redundant.
However, the downstream petroleum audit services provided by SML were found to be beneficial, resulting in an increase in tax revenue to the State. The President directed that the fee structure for these services be changed from variable to fixed, and other provisions of the contract be reviewed.
It was emphasized that the performance of SML in any renegotiated contracts should be monitored periodically to ensure compliance. The Ministry of Finance and GRA are required to implement these directives immediately and provide the Office of the President with an update on the steps taken.
The President expressed gratitude to KPMG for conducting a thorough audit. This action came after an investigation by The Fourth Estate revealed false and unsubstantiated claims made by SML, which served as the basis for payment. The investigation also uncovered an outrageous deal initiated by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, which would entitle the company to over $100 million annually for the next 10 years.
