The North Tongu Member of Parliament, Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa, has responded to the Ghana Revenue Authority's (GRA) reaction to his revelations concerning the GRA-SML Ghana contract.
Hon Ablakwa stands firm, refusing to issue an apology and asserting that the GRA's response falls short of discrediting his parliamentary oversight findings.
The crux of Ablakwa's concern lies in the circumstances surrounding the audit into the SML scandal, emphasizing Ghana's unique situation where the President ordered a crucial audit, and the head of the organization under audit, GRA Commissioner-General Rev. Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Ansah, was allowed to proceed on leave and travel abroad during the investigation.
Ablakwa criticizes this as “absolutely incredulous,” highlighting that under a different administration, the GRA boss might have faced termination for leaving the jurisdiction during a high-profile national audit into what he describes as a “create, loot and share scheme” with Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
The GRA's official statement asserts that Rev. Dr. Owusu-Ansah is on a 6-day leave and will resume work on January 15, 2024. Ablakwa, however, challenges the timeline, pointing out that the Commissioner-General left Ghana on January 3, 2024, just hours after the presidential directive for a KPMG audit on January 2, 2024. He questions the validity of terming this absence a “6-day leave” when it coincides with the entire promised two-week audit period.
Hon Ablakwa attributes these developments and what he calls “blatant official untruths” to a government engaged in deception and a grand cover-up rather than an honest, transparent, and credible investigation into the alleged US$100 million SML scandal.
Undeterred, Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa affirms his commitment to fulfilling the constitutional mandate of parliamentary oversight, declaring, “Nothing will stop us from pursuing our constitutional mandate of parliamentary oversight. Forward ever, backward never!”