Former Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo, has said that President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s call for an audit into the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) is a waste of public funds.
He says there are many credible state institutions that can outperform KPMG in auditing the much talked about agreement.
According to him, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Audit Service are all available to provide that role as state institutions, the reason the introduction of KPMG into the matter is unwarranted.
On TV3’s News Central Wednesday, January 03, 2024, the former A-G said “it is not necessary, it is a further waste of public funds, because there are several anti corruption agencies in the country. First we have the EOCO, we have the OSP and if it is a matter of audit we have the Ghana Audit Service or the office of the Auditor General.
“If you read Article 187 Clause 8 of the constitution, it says that in the national interest the President, upon advise from the Council of State may ask the Auditor General to conduct audits.
“So such audits can be done better by the Auditor General instead of the KPMG.
“So my initial reaction is that this is a further wastage of public resources which must be avoided.”
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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