{"id":63746,"date":"2024-01-03T17:24:21","date_gmt":"2024-01-03T17:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/?p=63746"},"modified":"2024-01-03T14:43:58","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T14:43:58","slug":"akufo-addo-suspends-sml-gra-contract-directs-audit-into-transaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/all-news\/akufo-addo-suspends-sml-gra-contract-directs-audit-into-transaction","title":{"rendered":"Akufo-Addo suspends SML-GRA contract, directs audit into transaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Ghana. <\/strong><\/span>President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has ordered an audit into the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).<\/b><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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: \u201ci. 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;<\/p>\n

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.\u201d<\/p>\n

SML contract in its current shape is not valid and must come to parliament for approval \u2013 Ato Forson<\/p>\n

The press release added that, \u201cPresident Akufo-Addo has tasked KPMG to complete the assignment in two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d the statement concluded.<\/p>\n

We demand full-scale probe into SML contract \u2013 Minority<\/p>\n

Background<\/b><\/p>\n

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\u2019s media, had made false and unsubstantiated claims of its operations that have served as the basis for the payment it received.<\/p>\n

\u2018We are aware of a cartel in the oil ring whose illegal trade is being collapsed by our operations\u2019 \u2013 SML<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

The investigation also uncovered that at a time players in the downstream petroleum sector were questioning the relevance of SML\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Ghana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Ghana. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has ordered an audit into the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML). 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":63745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[5092,5096,429],"class_list":["post-63746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-ghana","tag-ghana"],"yoast_head":"\nAkufo-Addo suspends SML-GRA contract, directs audit into transaction - Ghana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has ordered an audit into the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GR ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/all-news\/akufo-addo-suspends-sml-gra-contract-directs-audit-into-transaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Akufo-Addo suspends SML-GRA contract, directs audit into transaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has ordered an audit into the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GR ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/all-news\/akufo-addo-suspends-sml-gra-contract-directs-audit-into-transaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ghana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-03T17:24:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/ghana\/sites\/18\/2024\/01\/sm_1704280244.051967.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1728\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1151\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/all-news\/akufo-addo-suspends-sml-gra-contract-directs-audit-into-transaction#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/all-news\/akufo-addo-suspends-sml-gra-contract-directs-audit-into-transaction\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Akufo-Addo suspends SML-GRA contract, directs audit into transaction\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-03T17:24:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/all-news\/akufo-addo-suspends-sml-gra-contract-directs-audit-into-transaction\"},\"wordCount\":542,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/all-news\/akufo-addo-suspends-sml-gra-contract-directs-audit-into-transaction#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/ghana\/sites\/18\/2024\/01\/sm_1704280244.051967.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Ghana\",\"ghana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/all-news\/akufo-addo-suspends-sml-gra-contract-directs-audit-into-transaction#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/all-news\/akufo-addo-suspends-sml-gra-contract-directs-audit-into-transaction\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/ghana\/all-news\/akufo-addo-suspends-sml-gra-contract-directs-audit-into-transaction\",\"name\":\"Akufo-Addo suspends SML-GRA contract, directs audit into transaction - 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