The Majority caucus in Parliament has defended the existing contract between Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), following a call from the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) for total cancellation.
The Majority contends that the opposition’s claims are baseless due to the absence of proven financial misconduct by any state officer.
During a press briefing on Friday, Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin addressed concerns raised by the NDC and several Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in light of the audit report by KPMG on the SML-GRA contracts.
He emphasized all payments to SML are sourced from the revenues it helps to generate, rather than from government funds directly.
“They are paid 0.05% per litre of revenue that they generate as a result of the system they have implemented to monitor the downstream activities of the petroleum sector,” he explained.
The Effutu MP also stressed the benefits of SML’s systems, which he says have significantly reduced revenue leakages in the petroleum sector.
“Before our engagement, the manual system in place brought about many leakages and made it difficult for the government to determine revenues in real-time,” he stated.
The KPMG audit, commissioned after discrepancies were noted in initial dealings, has recommended several procedural adjustments to enhance contract oversight and efficiency.
In response, the President issued directives aimed at tightening these processes, which the Majority argued was a step towards improving the effectiveness of the contract rather than a need for its cancellation.
Afenyo-Markin slammed what he claimed is a tendency of the Minority to unduly scrutinize Ghanaian companies while foreign enterprises receive more favourable treatment.
He stated, “We should encourage our state institutions to do business with Ghanaian businessmen with good initiatives. When there are challenges, we should question but act within the remit of addressing those challenges, rather than being overly speculative.”
The Majority’s defence comes amid ongoing debates about the role and scrutiny of private sector contracts in public revenue systems.
The GRA-SML arrangement was initially questioned by various oversight bodies, including the Public Procurement Authority (PPA). Still, it was later ratified following compliance and rationalization efforts by the GRA and its board.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has instructed the GRA and the Ministry of Finance to renegotiate the contract with SML. This decision follows the recommendations from a KPMG audit that suggested revisions to the revenue assurance agreement to improve its effectiveness.