Anti-graft campaigner, Vitus Azeem, has expressed disappointment in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his failure to hold anyone accountable for the flawed contracts and negotiations regarding the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) deal with Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
In a press release on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, President Akufo-Addo endorsed the recommendation of KPMG’s audit report to discontinue the upstream petroleum and minerals audit services previously provided to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) by Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
However, speaking on Metro TV’s News Beat, Vitus Azeem expressed sadness over the president’s inability to recommend punitive action be taken against persons who were involved in the negotiations.
He emphasized that “people must be held responsible for what they do. if it’s good, there must be praise, and if it’s bad, there must be punishment.”
He criticized the government’s habit of shielding reports, saying it’s not transparent enough.
Mr. Azeem also called for the full KPMG report to be made public, saying “we need to know what the whole report says. we don’t know what is not acceptable or not.”
He urged the government to release the entire document for scrutiny, rather than just cherry-picking favorable findings.
He, however, commended President Akufo-Addo for accepting the recommendations of the KPMG audit report, which calls for the termination or renegotiation of some government contracts.
While welcoming the president’s admission that some contracts were “unnecessarily” negotiated, Mr. Azeem stressed that accountability and transparency are crucial in tackling corruption and promoting good governance.
By: Bright Yao Dzakah | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana
