The founding Editor-in-Chief of the Fourth Estate, Manasseh Azure Awuni, is disconcerted over the call for audit by President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo into the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
Manasseh’s unpleasant surprise is as a result of the action adopted by the President on the matter which appears to be contrary to the status quo. According to him, rather, the President should have called for investigation into the contract instead of an audit.
He says the decision of the President is possibly to exonerate SML from their own admissions as contained in the documentary aired by the Fourth Estate.
His comment follows President Akufo-Addo’s order for KPMG to audit a contract that was signed between the GRA and SML which has raised eyebrows over suspected corruption.
The renowned journalist whose investigative piece has called for probe in the contract between the GRA and SML says the action of the President on the release of his Contracts for Sale which is seeing the culprits on trial after the ultimate dismissal of the then Chief Executive of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) should have been replicated in this matter.
Speaking with Alfred Ocansey Tuesday, January 02, 2024, on TV3’s Ghana Tonight, the 2019 and 2020 West African Journalist of the Year said he is wondering what the end game would be.
“In 2019 when I did the Contracts for Sale, the day after the story broke, the President suspended the CEO of Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and then referred the matter to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and then also the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to investigate. CHRAJ finished its investigations, based on its findings, the President dismissed then CEO of the PPA, Adjenim Boateng Adjei. Then later on the OSP under the leadership of Kissi Agyebeng continued and as we speak, the CEO of the PPA and his brother-in-law are standing trial in the court of law.
“So the question is, why is the President asking for an audit instead of investigation this time? Why KPMG and not the OSP which is already working on this and why not the CHRAJ as in the past? So these are questions that came to mind when I saw the statement and I’m wondering what the end game is yet to be,” Manasseh indicated, adding that “a number of people on social media and WhatsApp platforms are saying this is perhaps an attempt to whitewash the report and perhaps clear the people. But it is too early and the issues are already known.”
Background
A year-long investigation by Evans Aziamor-Mensah, Adwoa Adobea-Owusu and Manasseh Azure Awuni of The Fourth Estate, revealed that the company (SML), with the help of a section of Ghana’s media, had made false and unsubstantiated claims of its operations that have served as the basis for the payment it received.
The Fourth Estate asserted that, it appears the Ministry of Finance and the GRA were aware the claims were false, for some officials of the GRA said they had confronted the company about its claims of savings and volumes on two separate occasions.
A few hours after the reporters confronted the management of SML with the findings of the investigation and asked for a response, the major services it claimed to render to the government disappeared from the company’s website.
The investigation also uncovered that at a time players in the downstream petroleum sector were questioning the relevance of SML’s involvement, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, initiated a more outrageous deal that would entitle the company to over $100 million every year for the next 10 years.
This, is what caused President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to order an audit into the contract.
“Accordingly, KPMG, an Audit, Tax and Advisory Services firm, has been appointed to conduct an audit into the transaction, which was entered into to enhance revenue assurance in the downstream petroleum sector, the upstream petroleum production and minerals and metals resources value chain,” a press release dated Tuesday, January 02, 2024 and signed by the Director of Communication at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, stated.
It added that the Terms of Reference of the audit are as follows: “i. conduct an audit to ascertain the rationale or needs assessment performed prior to the contract approval by GRA, and assess how the arrangement aligns with specific needs; ii. assess the appropriateness of the contracting methodology, verifying compliance with legal standards and industry best practices in the procurement process for the selection of SML;
iii. evaluate the degree of alignment between current activities and the stipulated contract scope, identifying any deviations; iv. evaluate the value or benefit that SML has so far offered to the GRA through this engagement; v. review the financial arrangements, including pricing structures, payment terms and resolution of any financial compliance issues; and vi. submit a report on your findings on the above, together with appropriate recommendations.”
The press release added that, “President Akufo-Addo has tasked KPMG to complete the assignment in two weeks.”
“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 statement concluded.
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