By Iddi Yire
Accra, May 3, GNA – Mr Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business in Parliament, has lauded Mr Manasseh Azure Awuni of the Fourth Estate for unearthing the SML issue.
The Fourth Estate is a non-profit, public interest and accountability investigative journalism project of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).
The Majority Leader noted that on the issue of SML, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Majority Caucus had taken note of the works of the Fourth Estate led by Mr Azure Awuni.
“We commend him for his efforts in holding government to accounts and ensuring that the democracy we are practising as a country is sustained through interventions such as what he has uncovered,” Mr Afenyo-Markin stated on Friday during a press conference at Parliament House in Accra.
“We equally commend His Excellency the President for not sweeping the said report under the carpet but being bold and courageous to do further interrogations, which interrogations led to the referral to a reputable audit firm, KPMG to look at the contract critically and then come with some recommendations.”
He noted that Ghanaians became aware again, that after the President had received the report of KPMG, he straight away went into action by issue certain directives to Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), which directives in the Majority’s view would help to straighten some procedural challenges that the contract itself presented.
He said it was clear also from the KPMG report that what the Company was doing, especially in the downstream, was very critical and it had helped the government to generate revenue.
He said prior to their engagement, the manual system, which was bringing about a lot of negatives, made it difficult for government to determine in real time such revenues.
And it is clear also from the report of KPMG, which Mr President gave highlights onto GRA, that indeed, this Company does not only have the experience, what they are doing is novelty.
“Now we are aware that our friends in the NDC (National Democratic Congress) for certain prosecutions, I think that they have not really paid attention to the whole issue, and they just want to do politics as usual.” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.
“Their call is unfounded for a simple reason that there isn’t any established proof of any officer of state causing financial loss (to the state). Indeed, what they say are payments to SML are not payments born out of Government’s revenue.”
He reiterated that if one perused the agreement, SML was paid out of what it generated and that the NDC Minority would have to pay attention to the details.
“They are paid 0.05 per cent per a litre of revenue that we generate as a result of the system that they have put in place to monitor the downstream activities in the energy or petroleum sector.”
He said it was instructive to also note that the Company opened its doors to the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament to inspect and to see the nature of their operations.
“What I want to urge our colleagues in opposition is that they should not kill Ghanaian businesses. Often times under the guide of due diligence, under the guide of ensuring that there is transparency, we often get out of control and destroy Ghanian businesses, whereas foreign firms who operate in certain sectors get the kind of protection that makes them develop their businesses. Often times, Ghanian businesses suffer and they looked at with all manner of suspicions,” the Majority Leader said.
He added: “I think that as somebody coming from the private sector into this public space, I will not encourage that to be done.”
He cited Margins ID Group, a Ghanian Company, that was producing in Ghana, and that recently when the Parliamentary Oversight Committees visited them, Members of Parliament (MPs) from the opposition NDC gave commendations about the Company.
“Meanwhile we all know how this company was lambasted in the early days when the Government engaged it,” the Majority Leader said.
GNA