A Special Aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, Stan Xoese Dogbe, has raised critical questions regarding President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s sudden decision to release the full KPMG report on the Strategic Mobilization Ghana Limited’s contract with the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Finance.
The former Director of Communications at the Office of the President under the erstwhile Mahama’s administration in a scathing critique, criticized the Presidency for what he termed the “fastest U-turn” by President Akufo-Addo to release the report following his initial decline upon request by the Media Foundation for West Africa.
Mr Dogbe emphasized that the release of the report was not motivated by President Akufo-Addo or the New Patriotic Party administration’s commitment to transparency or accountability.
He further posited that the decision by President Akufo-Addo to release the full report of KPMG on the Strategic Mobilization Ghana Limited deal with the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Finance may have been triggered by something different.
“What was it that triggered the fastest U-turn by President Akufo-Addo ever to release the KPMG’s damaging report on the corrupt SML transaction, which they used all kinds of legal gymnastics to earlier justify while whitewashing the KPMG’s work and recommendations?
” From my experience and working knowledge, this action is not because Akufo-Addo and the NPP have suddenly embraced transparency or want to be accountable”.
Stan Dogbe, Special Aide to former President John Dramani Mahama
Furthermore, Stan Dogbe, the Special Aide to former President John Dramani Mahama strongly posited that the SML deal is without doubt a corrupt transaction, which was designed to siphon off tax revenue for personal and political gain, particularly for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its election campaigns in 2020 and 2024.
He emphasized that the general public outrage following the disclosure of the details of the deal by the Fourth Estate gives reasonable doubt about the illegitimate nature and significant malfeasance associated with the deal, even before KPMG’s investigation and subsequent report on the deal.
Mr Dogbe’s criticism focused on the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), which he accused of turning a blind eye to financial irregularities within the Strategic Mobilization Ghana Limited deal.
He pointed out that SML had retained Value Added Tax (VAT) amounting to over GH¢13 million, a sum that should have been remitted to the state’s coffers, stressing that the SML contract with the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Finance simply “stinks”.
Moreover, Mr Dogbe expressed deep concerns over what he perceived as the alarming rate of corruption in the country under the New Patriotic Party administration led by President Akufo-Addo.
Mr Dogbe, while decrying the repercussions of the systemic corruption and the misuse of public funds under the current administration, underscored the urgent need for Ghanaians to vote for change in the upcoming 2024 December 7 general elections.
He emphasized that Ghana needs redemption, aligning his message with the opposition party’s calls for the election of former President John Dramani Mahama as the President of the country in the December 7 polls to provide for substantial political and economic reforms to change the development trajectory of the country.
The Office of the President, in a statement issued by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin announced the publication of the full KPMG report on the Strategic Mobilization Ghana Limited transaction with the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Finance.
The release of the KPMG report revealed some significant discrepancies in the transaction that transpired between Strategic Mobilization Ghana Limited, the Ghana Revenue and the Ministry of Finance, leading to calls for further actions to be taken by authorities in response to the revelations contained within the report.
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