Private legal practitioner Mr. Martin Kpebu has urged patience from the Ghanaian public regarding the release of the KPMG audit report on the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML). This call for patience aims to ensure that individuals mentioned in the report have adequate opportunity to respond to its findings. The audit, initiated by President Nana Akufo-Addo on January 2nd, follows investigative reports by the Fourth Estate, highlighting the need for a closer examination of the GRA-SML agreement.
Confirmation of the report’s receipt came from the Presidency on April 3, 2024, with Mr. Eugene Arhin, the Director of Communications, indicating the President’s commitment to studying the audit findings and subsequently sharing his decisions with the nation. Mr. Kpebu, speaking on TV3’s “The Key Points,” emphasized the importance of not rushing the Presidency into releasing the report without due process, including providing cited individuals a chance to reply, typically allowed for 30 days in audit practices.
Despite advocating for a reasonable timeframe for the response to the audit, Mr. Kpebu highlighted the necessity of making the audit report’s findings public, arguing that withholding such information could have political ramifications and comparing the current situation to previous administrations’ handling of corruption reports. Echoing Mr. Kpebu’s sentiment on the public’s right to information, Professor Ransford Gyampo, a Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, emphasized the Ghanaian people’s entitlement to the details of the report, stressing the importance of transparency in governance. He called for immediate communication from the Presidency regarding the audit report’s receipt and its contents, whether they reveal corruption or clear the involved parties of any wrongdoing.
Moreover, Mr. Alex Segbefia, Director of the International Relations Directorate of the National Democratic Congress, voiced a demand for the swift release of the report’s findings, citing significant public interest in the matter. His stance reflects a broader call for transparency and accountability in public contracts and the management of public resources.
Throughout the discussions, there was a call for responsible media coverage to ensure that the reputations of individuals implicated in the report are not unjustly tarnished before the official findings are released. The situation underscores the delicate balance between the public’s right to know and the need for fairness and due process in addressing allegations of corruption or mismanagement in public affairs.
