Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner and anti-corruption crusader, has urged the authorities to take immediate action and prosecute former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, for his involvement in the controversial SML deal, which has caused substantial financial damage to the state.
Mr. Kpebu emphasized that officials of SML must be held accountable and included in the prosecution, alongside former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, for their roles in the controversial deal.
As such, he justified that the severity of the full KPMG audit report’s findings warrants the prosecution of all individuals involved in drafting and executing the contract.
Furthermore, he advocated for the immediate cancellation of the contract, citing the significant financial losses it has incurred for the state.
“I have seen parts of the [audit] report. The ones that are saying that SML didn’t deliver. So we need to now quantify how much we lost and to hold Ofori-Atta and the other persons involved for this loss. Let’s not forget we need to terminate this agreement”.
Martin Kpebu
He argued that SML’s failure to fulfill its contractual obligations provides a clear basis for terminating the deal, as the company has not met its agreed-upon responsibilities.
He noted that, according to legal precedent set by the Supreme Court, when a contract is deemed void, public entities are not obligated to make payments, as this could facilitate collusion among public officials and enable them to profit from unfulfilled contracts.
However, he clarified that, while a contract may be deemed void under general contract law, if work has already been completed, payment is still required to ensure fairness and prevent unjust consequences, where one party bears the burden of faulty legal documentation.
“In this SML case, we should order a recovery of the money, that’s what we should do. Ofori Atta knew this, we have to hold this man responsible… I don’t know why we sat down as a country and allowed Akufo-Addo and his brother to just run this country aground”.
Martin Kpebu
Furthermore, the lawyer alleged that the President and the former Minister of Finance have a pattern of meddling in all state contracts to illegitimately enrich themselves, their families and associates.
He pointed out that the President has failed to keep his promise to avoid nepotism in government, instead appointing his brother to head the Ministry of Finance. “Look at the kind of contracts he was approving and even extending”, he added.
KPMG’s Suggestion Deemed Unworkable
Moreover, Martin Kpebu argued that KPMG’s suggestion to seek Parliamentary approval for the SML deal through the Finance Ministry is unrealistic and unworkable, given the circumstances.
“It’s neither here nor there. Don’t forget [that] KPMG is not that independent, KPMG does business with the government so they’ve been very soft. Look…if you want to know how KPMG has played it very soft, it beggars belief that KPMG did not interview Manasseh…who originated this”.
Martin Kpebu
Martin Kpebu further observed that the President’s decision to withhold the KPMG report from the Fourth Estate when it requested it, was a deliberate attempt to conceal the truth about the deal, likely because the President knew that the public would be outraged by the report’s revelations.
Martin Kpebu urged the Fourth Estate to take further action by pursuing legal recourse, seeking justice in the courts, and holding the Presidency accountable for its refusal to disclose the document, despite the Fourth Estate’s rightful invocation of the Right to Information Act (2019).
Meanwhile, the newly released KPMG report exposed a discrepancy in the payment amount to SML, contradicting the Presidency’s Whitepaper which claimed payment of GH₵1 billion. In reality, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) paid a significantly higher amount of GH₵1.4 billion for the deal.
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