Bin KPMG report on SML-GRA contract, it’s just a ‘whitewash’ – Martin Kpebu

Private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has labelled the report by auditing firm, KPMG on the contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) as nothing but a ‘whitewash’.

According to him, the auditing firm maintains a symbiotic relationship with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), undermining its ability to conduct a fair and objective assessment.

In an interview on Eyewitness News with Umaru Sanda, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, Mr Kpebu stated that the intertwined nature of KPMG’s dealings with the GRA, suggests a conflict of interest.

“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 report revealed that SML had been paid a total of GH¢1,061,054,778.00 from 2018 to date.

The disclosure was made in a press statement released by the Communications Director of the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, on Wednesday, April 24.

The Presidency’s April 24 press statement said “the total fees paid under the contracts from 2018 to the date of suspension amount to GH¢1,061,054,778.00. No fee has been paid for the upstream petroleum audit and minerals audit services.”

It added that “the total fees estimated to be paid to SML under the 2023 Contract for five years is GH¢5,173,091,857.00, which averages to about GH¢1 billion per year.”