The Majority Caucus in Parliament has defended the deal between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML), dismissing allegations of wrongdoing raised by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and various Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). These groups have been advocating for the contract’s termination following the government’s white paper issued after a KPMG audit.
During a press briefing in Parliament, Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin cautioned his NDC colleagues and CSOs against actions that could harm Ghanaian businesses.
The Effutu MP added that President Akufo-Addo’s decision to initiate a thorough review of the contract serves the public’s best interests.
“Now we are aware that our friends in the NDC are calling for certain prosecutions. I think that they have not paid attention to the whole issue and they only want to do politics as usual. Their call is unfounded for the simple reason that there isn’t any established proof of any officer of state causing financial loss to the state.”
“Indeed what they think are payments to SML are not payments borne out of the government’s revenue. If you peruse the agreement, SML is paid out of what it generates and they would have to pay attention to the details. They are paid 0.05% per litre of revenue that they generate as a result of the system that they put in place to monitor activities in the petroleum sector.
“And it is instructive to also note that his company opened its doors to the Mines and Energy Committee to inspect and to see the nature of their operations. What I want to urge our colleagues in the opposition is that they should not kill Ghanaian businesses.
“Often under the guise of due diligence and ensuring that there is transparency, we often get out of control and destroy Ghanaian companies, whereas foreign ones who operate in certain sectors get a kind of protection that makes them develop their business but often Ghanaian businesses suffer,” he stated.
The Majority refuted the legal concerns raised by the NDC and CSOs, particularly the assertion that the deal should have been approved by Parliament. The caucus maintained that there was no legal basis for these claims.
President Akufo-Addo recently directed the GRA and the Ministry of Finance to renegotiate the contract with SML, following recommendations from the KPMG audit. The audit indicated the need for a review of the revenue assurance agreement to enhance its effectiveness.
