Former editor-in-chief at the Fourth Estate and renowned investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, is asking President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to publicly release copies of the audit report conducted by KPMG on the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
Speaking during an interview with Alfred Ocansey on Ghana Tonight from Harvard University, USA, Manasseh emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability in governance. He expressed concerns about the lack of comprehensive coverage of audit reports in government-issued white papers and advocated for the online publication of the original KPMG report for public scrutiny.
Manasseh highlighted the precedent set by the previous NDC government in publishing the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA) report in 2013. He called on President Akufo-Addo to follow suit and make the KPMG audit report on the GRA-SML contract publicly accessible. Additionally, Manasseh disclosed that despite the announcement of a defamatory suit against him by SML in February, he is yet to receive formal legal notice.
Quote: Manasseh Azure Awuni Urges Akufo Addo to Publish Report
The issues are pretty well-known,” stressing that “KPMG, being ordered by the president, had more access than even the producer of “The GHC3 billion Lie Documentary.
He remarked, amongst other things, that “normally when a government issues white papers, we know that the white paper may not necessarily reflect everything in the report.”
It is normal for him [the President] to study it, but we all want to have a copy or copies of the report published so that we can scrutinise it because there’s already a lot of skepticism about whether or not the president is committed to doing something credible on it. He further mentioned.
Background of the GRA-SML Contract
The Fourth Estate released “The GH¢3bn Lie Documentary” on December 18, 2023, implicating SML in a controversial 10-year contract with the Finance Ministry and the GRA.
Following public outcry, President Akufo-Addo instructed the GRA to suspend the contract with SML on January 2, 2024, pending an audit by KPMG.
Despite GRA’s assertion of proper procurement procedures, Manasseh and his team have continued to advocate for transparency and accountability in the handling of public contracts.
