The President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo has instructed the termination of upstream petroleum audit and minerals audit services provided by SML.
This development is in light of the findings and recommendations from an audit conducted by KPMG regarding transactions between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilization Ghana Ltd (SML).
A press release from the Communications Directorate of the Jubilee House stated that the President’s decision, outlined in a letter dated Thursday, April 18, 2024, was based on KPMG’s investigation, which highlighted partial value and a lack of monitoring in the services provided by SML.
The President also directed the Ministry of Finance and the GRA to terminate transaction audit and external price verification services, citing redundancy due to the GRA’s implementation of external price verification tools within its operations.
Acknowledging the necessity of downstream petroleum audit services, President Akufo-Addo called for a review of fee structures and contract provisions with SML, emphasizing the importance of ongoing monitoring and evaluation to ensure compliance and performance.
Immediate implementation of these directives has been tasked to the Ministry of Finance and the GRA, with updates to be provided to the Office of the President.
President Akufo-Addo further expressed gratitude to KPMG for their comprehensive audit.