GRA-SML deal: There is evidence of multiple violations of PPA, GRA Act, others – Kwaku Azar tells Akufo-Addo

A US-based Ghanaian lawyer and scholar, Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare, widely known as Kwaku Azar, has added his voice to calls for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to take action on the KPMG report on Ghana Revenue Authority’s revenue assurance contract with Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).

In a post shared on Facebook, on Thursday, April 25, 2024, Kwaku Azar indicated that Akufo-Addo ordering the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Finance to renegotiate the revenue assurance contract with SML, is not enough.

He said that the KPMG report shows that there were a lot of violations in the signing of the contract which must be dealt with.

Even where the white paper suggests that there has been an increase in the volume of petroleum or tax revenue, there is not enough information to allow one to determine the source of these increases.

There has been an increase in volumes of 1.7 billion litres and an increase in tax revenue to the State of GHS 2.45 billion.

KPMG also observed that there were qualitative benefits, including a 24/7 electronic real-time monitoring of outflow and partial monitoring of inflows of petroleum products at depots where SML had installed flowmeters and six levels of reconciliation done by SML.

The audit findings prompted the need for a review of the revenue assurance contract, highlighting areas where improvements are necessary to enhance its effectiveness.