Africa-Press – Ghana. OccupyGhana, a civil society group, has called on the Council of State to advise President Akufo-Addo to revoke the appointment of private auditing firm, KPMG, in respect of the audit of the revenue assurance contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
The group said by so doing, the President will be complying with Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution.
“We urge the Council of State to seize the initiative and send its advice to the President forthwith. We also urge the President to revoke the appointment and mandate of the private audit firm, and to comply with Article 187 on the matter,” OccupyGhana wrote in a press release dated January 5.
The group further urged the Auditor-General that, “if the Council of State and/or the President fail(s), neglect(s) or refuse(s) to comply with Article 187, the Auditor-General should commence and conduct the special audit on his own motion as he is empowered to do under Section 16 of the Audit Service Act.”
It would be recalled that President Akufo-Addo appointed KPMG 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 January 2 and signed by the Director of Communication at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin stated 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.”
However, Occupy Ghana stressed that, “While we welcome both a public interest audit and the announced parliamentary inquiry into this matter, we are concerned that the President’s choice of a private audit firm to conduct this audit could be unconstitutional as it ignores a direct constitutional provision made and meant to address such situations.”
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