President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has made a surprising U-turn by releasing the full KPMG report on the agreement between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
This decision came after the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, pointed out that the president was wrong in keeping the report away from the public.
Braimah emphasized the importance of understanding the exemptions provisions in the Right To Information (RTI) Act, which the president had initially relied on to refuse the release of the report. He urged the Presidency to avoid future U-turns by gaining a better comprehension of these provisions.
The release of the report on Wednesday, May 22, was justified by the presidency as a demonstration of transparency, openness, and honesty with the public. Although the president was not obligated to release the report, he chose to do so in the spirit of transparency.
The initial refusal to release the report was based on the exemptions under section 5 of the RTI Act, which includes information that contains opinion, advice, deliberation, recommendation, minutes, or consultation made to the President or Vice President. However, the President decided to waive this privilege and directed the publication of the KPMG report in full.
