Atta Akyea urges calm over SML/ GRA revenue assurance contract

 Chairman of Parliamentary Com­mittee on Mines and Energy, Samuel Atta Akyea, has urged the public to remain calm, pending the outcome of the KPMG report, and the comments of the presidency on the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) and Ghana Revenue (GRA) Author­ity revenue assurance contract in the downstream petroleum sector.

During a familiarisation tour of SML yesterday, Mr Atta Akyea stated that it would be prejudicial to comment on the contract as Presi­dent Akufo-Addo has appointed a tax, audit and advisory firm, KPMG to conduct an immediate audit into the contract.

When asked whether SML merits the alleged $100 million annual deal, Mr Atta Akyea maintained that the committee was waiting for the findings of the presidency based on the report by KPMG after which it would engage SML.

Nonetheless, Mr Atta Akyea, after the facility tour, expressed contentment at the technology deployed for the revenue assurance but declined to speak on the finan­cial details involved saying, whether there was any financial malfeasance or not in the deal, would come after KPMG had submitted their report to the President and any further comments on the deal would preju­dice the audit process.

Commenting on the contract which was under auditing, Direc­tor of Special Support Services of SML, Dr Yaa Serwaa Sarpong, said before SML, the average taxable petroleum volume was 240 and 250 million litres but doubled to a sustained level between 450 to 500 petroleum products after SML came in.

According to her, such feat was as a result of the controls put in place to audit and assure revenue in the downstream sector, which translated into over GH¢12 billion petroleum revenue in the past three- and-a- half years, describing it as “unprecedented.”

This, she said, gave evidence of their contribution to Ghana’s growth with the deployment of state-of-the-art technology, and willing to commit to and sustain the growth for as long as they would be allowed to do the work.

SML debunked an investigative piece put together by the “Fourth Estate” in December last year, alleging of being awarded a 10-year contract duration, insisting that it had been given a 5-year contract.

It further dispelled the allegations that the contract valued at $100 million annually.

Finance Committee of Parlia­ment in December last year, direct­ed the suspension of all payments under the contract from 2024 pending a probe into the contract by Parliament.

However, in a statement dated January 2 and signed by the Direc­tor of Communications at the Pres­idency, Eugene Arhin, President Akufo-Addo appointed KPMG to conduct an audit into the transac­tion between SML and GRA and submit the report and appropriate recommendations to him.

 FROM KEN AFEDZI, TEMA.

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