Akufo-Addo Suspends Shady Contract At GRA After Exposé, Appoints KPMG To Audit Transaction
- President Akufo-Addo has ordered the suspension of a control revenue assurance contract in the petroleum sector
- The contract was signed between the Ghana Revenue Authority and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd
- The shady contract is under scrutiny after an investigative report by The Fourth Estate
President Akufo-Addo has ordered the suspension of the revenue assurance contract signed between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML) following an investigative report by The Fourth Estate.
The president has also appointed the audit firm, KPMG, to scrutinise the transaction.
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The suspension was announced in a January 2 statement which inidcated that KPMG has been given two weeks to complete its audit.
The Finance Committee of Parliament on December 23, 2023, also recommended a suspension of all payments under the government’s contract with SML from 2024, pending a probe into the contract by Parliament.
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The director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy, Benjamin Nsiah, told YEN.com.gh that an independent audit was a step in the right direction.
He, however, suggested some conflict of interest on the part of KPMG because it reportedly has a contract with the GRA.
"People are sceptical about KPMG not doing due diligence because of that particular conflict of interest.”
Nsiah, however, expressed more confidence in a possible probe by Parliament into the issue.
"Parliament can do their job side-by-side with KPMG, and at the end of the day, both recommendations are what Ghanaians will be looking up to.”
Background to the scandal
The Fourth Estate investigation questioned the impact of SML in the downstream petroleum sector despite being awarded a 10-year $100 million contract.
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SML admitted it was not performing the advertised services that claimed to tackle under-reporting, diversion and dilution.
The investigation also raised questions about malfeasance in the procurement process to award SML the contract.
The company has disputed the findings saying it's given a five-year contract instead.
SML, after an investigative piece put together by the Fourth Estate in December 2023, debunked claims of being awarded a 10-year contract duration, insisting that it has been given a 5-year contract instead.
SML further dispelled claims that it takes $100 million annually from its contract.
Cecilia Dapaah corruption scandal
In a separate scandal, YEN.com.gh reported that former sanitation minister Cecilia Dapaah faced public scrutiny for alleged corruption after losing $1 million, €300,000, and an undisclosed amount of Ghana cedis said to have been stolen by her house helps. The scandal eventually led to her resignation.
Investigators also tracked $5 million GH¢48 million moving through Dapaah’s Prudential Bank accounts. It was also reported that the Special Prosecutor found $590,000 and GH¢2.7 million in cash while searching Dapaah's Abelemkpe residence.
At a point, the Special Prosecutor seized her money and froze accounts estimated to total about GH¢2.83 million as part of the ongoing investigation into corruption and corruption-related activities.
US law enforcement agency FBI also joined the fray and began investigations into the embattled former sanitation minister.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
