If there’s nothing to hide, release KMPG report on GRA-SML deal – Sulemana Braimah ask Akufo-Addo

Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah has indicated that if President Akufo-Addo has nothing to hide then he should release the KPMG audit report of the GRA-SML deal.

President Akufo-Addo in January directed KPMG to audit a contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ltd (SML) after Ghanaians questioned the contract following a Fourth Estate documentary that alleged that SML was being paid millions for no work done.

Although the presidency through a release provided some information of the report by KPMG, the full report of the audit has not been made public.

Making use of the RTI Law, the Fourth Estate wrote to the Presidency to request a copy of the report.

The presidency in a reply to the Fourth Estate said it cannot make the full report public as the information is exempt under the RTI Law.

“The full KPMG Audit Report comprises opinions, advice, deliberations, and recommendations that are integral to the President's deliberative process and, therefore, qualifies as exempt information under section 5 (1) (a) and (b) (i).

“Understanding the public interest in the GRA-SML contract, the President has published the principal findings and recommendations of the KPMG report in a detailed press release issued by the Office of the President on 24th April 2024.

“Thus, the public remains informed while respecting the statutory restrictions on specific disclosures. Please accept the President's best wishes,” the Presidency said in its reply to the Fourth Estate.

Today, MFWA Executive Director Sulemana Braimah has posed a question to President Akufo-Addo, seeking to find out why the KPMG report is being hidden from the public.

In a post on X, he said the exempt provision of the RTI law has been misinterpreted by the presidency, stressing that the move by the presidency is untenable.

“Mr. President, what's in the KPMG report that's being hidden from the public? If there's nothing to hide, release the it. The masses have a right to know! Misinterpreting the exempt provisions of the RTI Law to refuse to release the report is untenable,” Sulemana Braimah said.