KPMG Report on SML-GRA Contract a Whitewash; Trash It – Martin Kpebu

Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has criticized the KPMG report on the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), calling it a “whitewash.” He argues that the audit firm’s relationship with the GRA compromises its ability to conduct an impartial assessment.

In an interview with Accra-based Citi News, Mr Kpebu suggested that KPMG’s close ties with the GRA create a conflict of interest, rendering the report unreliable. He stated that the firm’s business dealings with the GRA cast doubt on its objectivity.

“This KPMG report is not up to scratch, it’s just a whitewash. they haven’t done any good job at all…from day one, the writing was on the wall that KPMG was not up to the task because they couldn’t be independent enough. They have relations with GRA” he stated.

“KPMG itself does business with GRA. KPMG audits them and GRA also gives them business. So it was more like a ‘you scratch my back and I scratch your back” he added. 

The KPMG report revealed that SML received GH¢1,061,054,778.00 in payments from 2018 to date. This disclosure was made public in a press statement issued by Eugene Arhin, the Communications Director of the Presidency, on Wednesday, April 24.

According to the statement, the total fees paid to SML under the contract from 2018 until its suspension amounted to over GH¢1 billion. The report also noted that no fees had been paid for the upstream petroleum audit and minerals audit services.

The press release further explained that the estimated fees to be paid to SML under the 2023 contract over a five-year period would total GH¢5,173,091,857.00, with an average of about GH¢1 billion per year. These figures have raised questions and concerns about the financial relationship between GRA and SML, further fueling criticism of the KPMG report’s validity.

Source: Newsalertgh