Dr. Arthur Kobina Kennedy, a member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has suspected a foul play alleging that the government may be hiding some vital details concerning the contractual agreement between the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The former Presidential aspirant of the NPP revealed that, there is an absence of transparency which he believes is a deliberate attempt by government to cover up any illegalities in the contract and its consequences on Ghanaians at large.
Dr. Arthur Kennedy opined that, it does not matter the amount of revenue the SML has generates for Ghana’s economy, however, once the contract was not legally signed, it becomes invalid.
In an interview on the AM Show on Joynews, on Friday, April 26, Dr. Arthur Kennedy urged President Akufo-Addo to release to the general public, the full audit report presented to the President by KPMG.
According to him, making the report public would allow Ghanaians to have a better understanding of the issues surrounding the SML-GRA contract and its impact on Ghana’s economy.
Underscoring the importance of transparency in leadership and governance, Dr. Arthur Kennedy urged the government to prioritise accountability and provide the necessary information to the public, adding that this will ensure that citizens are informed about decisions that impact them directly as far as funds and contracts are concerned.
He said, “It appears that the government is trying to hide something. The fundamentals of this are clear and the contracts were awarded illegally and regardless what benefits have been accrued, it begs the question of why, regardless of the official disapproval, people went round the processes and awarded the contract.”
“Of course, a contract can be awarded improperly to somebody who might deliver some benefits when for example the terms of the contract were inimical to the public interest. And I think that the best thing the government can do is actually to release the KPMG report so that the public can we review that.”
Dr. Arthur Kennedy’s commentaries come on the heel of the recent audit report presented to the President by KPMG.
The President contracted KPMG to investigate a contractual dealing between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
Source: peacefmonline.com
