In the wake of revelations by audit firm KPMG on its probe of the controversial contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilization Ghana Ltd (SML), Vice President of IMANI Ghana, Bright Simons has raised questions of accountability and transparency in government dealings, and says a full report must be placed before the public.
The prominent voice in the discourse surrounding the GRA-SML contract says the infractions uncovered by the investigation, as indicated by President Akufo-Addo’s acknowledgment of the irregularities in awarding the contracts to SML, including payments exceeding GHȼ1 billion, raises the inevitable need for further scrutiny of the questionable arrangements.
He raised the issues in his first public comments on the communication from the presidency.
While commending President Akufo-Addo for issuing a ‘white paper’ on the work of KPMG and acknowledging infractions thereon, he says it is not enough if the doors to accountability are not opened. Of particular concern to him was the attempted extension of the contract to encompass the mining and petroleum drilling sectors, with an additional $100 million annually.
“It is helpful that the President of Ghana accepts that infractions occurred in the award of the SML contracts that have so far netted the company more than 1 BILLION GHS. It was inevitable that the attempt to extend this same troubling arrangement to the mining & petroleum drilling sectors for an additional $100 million a year would not stand scrutiny, so the decision to halt that process was expected.”
Bright Simons asserts that such an expansion would not withstand scrutiny, and the decision to halt the process was a foregone conclusion.
Moreover, Bright Simons raises alarm over the duplication of services in the pre-shipment inspection work undertaken by SML, originally delegated from West Blue, and contends that the President’s acknowledgment of this redundancy is a step in the right direction.
However, amidst these acknowledgments, Simons says he is disappointed with certain aspects of the President’s response and demands full transparency, calling for the release of the complete KPMG report to the public.
Additionally, he disputes the claim that any increase in petroleum consumption in Ghana can be attributed to SML’s efforts.
“We insist on seeing the full KPMG report. We dispute their apparent claim that any increase in petroleum consumption in Ghana should be attributed to SML. We demand an open forum to show that the weight of expert opinion in Ghana is against any such flawed reasoning. Multiple petroleum economists are on standby to prove that no gains in consumption volume can be attributed to SML’s work.”
Bright Simons challenged the reasoning behind SML’s payment structure, arguing that a fixed fee, rather than a percentage of taxes collected by the State, should be implemented.
He argues that a thorough needs assessment must precede any further disbursement of funds to SML or any other company.
He has consequently called for an open, transparent, and meritocratic process to evaluate the value for money and the necessity of SML’s services.
According to Bright Simons, no more of Ghana’s money should be allocated until such an assessment is completed, and offers the support of civil society activists and specialists in the energy sector to ensure a rigorous evaluation.
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Below is the statement from the Presidency: