Minority asks government to publish KPMG report 

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Minority has urged the Government to publish the full KPMG report on SML and to lay it before the House.

Mr. Isaac Adongo, the Ranking Member of the Finance Committee of Parliament and NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolgatanga Central, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, requested that Parliament must be furnished with a copy of the KPMG report to help the Finance Committee’s investigation.

The Ranking Member alleged that the Government had sought to obscure and obfuscate the facts by downplaying and adopting a lenient approach on the matter regarding criminal culpability whilst creating a possible route for resuscitating the deal.

“Such actions will not be overlooked, tolerated, or absolved,” Mr. Adongo warned.

He said in 2017, the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) took a discerning decision and made a meritorious move to refuse the Ghana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) request for sole source procurement of SML to undertake, amongst others, downstream petroleum activities.

He said the recent allegations against the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) made by the media were alarming; adding that reports indicated that the GRA entered into a contractual agreement with SML for revenue assurance services without adhering to the Public Procurement Act or undergoing a value-for-money audit.

“This could result in state agencies such as the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) having already fulfilled the contractual obligations, leading to unnecessary duplication of efforts,” he said.

He added, “Additionally, the contract’s annual cost of $100 million for many years raises concerns about its value for money.”

Mr. Adongo said given these circumstances, it was crucial that the GRA conducted a meticulous investigation and review of its procurement processes to ensure compliance with the Public Procurement Act.

This, he said, would enable Ghanaians to operate in strict accordance with all applicable laws and regulations while maintaining the highest standards of efficiency and cost effectiveness.

“Our steady obligation to transparency and accountability demands that any variations and divergences from these values must be addressed with the utmost urgency to maintain the trust and confidence of all our stakeholders.”

Mr. Adongo said at the budget hearing concerning the governmental obligations of the GRA, it was brought to the attention of the Finance Committee that the agreement in question had been procured through illegitimate means, without the requisite sanction of Parliament, and in flagrant violation of section 33 of the Public Financial Management Act.

He said the section dictated that Parliament must duly authorize all agreements involving multi-year commitments with the state and that any deviation from this requirement was a serious matter that ought to be addressed with the utmost gravity.

He said the Finance Committee subsequently recommended to the House that the GRA, through the Ministry of Finance, suspend the agreement and payments on the SML contract pending the outcome of the investigation.

He said Parliament then approved the recommendation, effectively directing the suspension of the agreement and payments as advised by the Finance Committee.

Touching on matters arising, Mr. Adongo said it was essential to emphasize that the procurement of KPMG had a specific objective: “To distort the allegations’ substance, conceal facts, and facilitate a seamless transition to the renewed agreement.

“The procurement of KPMG raises severe and valid concerns regarding transparency, the scope of KPMG’s mandate, and whether it was intended and designed to preclude investigations into legal compliance.”

He asked what the terms of reference of KPMG were, and whether the terms of reference include “Establishment of compliance with the Public Procurement Act, “Establishment of compliance with the Public Financial Management Act” and “whether there was value for money and whether monies paid were justified.”

“The gaps in the systems operated by state agencies such as NPA and whether there was any need beyond assisting state agencies to improve their systems and avoid paying such unconscionable sums to SML,” the release added.

Mr. Adongo said greater technical and evidentiary credibility and support were needed to bolster the argument for preserving the PPA and assigning any rise in oil usage to the Small and Marginalized Licensees deal.

He said the Government’s allocation of funds towards non-agreement-related variables was a controvertible and unjustifiable expenditure, particularly given the typical upward trend in fuel consumption and the exorbitant spike in fuel prices.

He said furthermore, if the contract failed to deliver total value for money and resulted from significant procurement and legal breaches, those accountable, including SML and its beneficial owners, must be held liable.

He reiterated that they must be arraigned and made to refund a substantial amount, if not all, of the fees they received for this non-compliant and illegally procured agreement.

He said such a breach of public trust must not go unchecked; declaring: “We must ensure that no one gets public funds for work(s) not performed.”

He said the NDC Minority would soon share details of what he called “the many corruption-laden digitalization schemes.”

GNA