President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will soon disclose his decision regarding the revenue mobilisation contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML).
According to the Director of Communications at the Jubilee House, Eugene Arhin, President Akufo-Addo has received the audit report conducted by KPMG on the said contract and is currently reviewing its contents.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, April 3, Mr Arhin said, “The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Wednesday, 27th March 2024, received from KPMG its report on the audit conducted, at the behest of the President, on the transactions between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML).
“President Akufo-Addo is studying the findings of the audit report, and will, in due course, make his decisions known to the Ghanaian people.”
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Background
President Akufo-Addo, on January 2, 2024, ordered an audit into the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
The audit to be conducted by KPMG was slated to last for two weeks.
The President’s action followed an investigation by The Fourth Estate, which revealed that SML had been awarded contracts that entitle the company to more than $100 million every year.
The company admitted it was not performing the advertised services that claimed to tackle under-reporting, diversion and dilution when the investigative journalists confronted it with evidence. It has since deleted those claims from its website.
The Managing Director of SML, Christian Tetteh Sottie, also admitted that the company’s claim that its services had saved Ghana GHS3 billion was false.
President Akufo-Addo further instructed the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Finance to adhere to his directive and furnish KPMG with all necessary documentation for the upcoming audit.
“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,” the President directed in a press statement.