SML Contract: Okudzeto Ablakwa Alleges How Govt Assisted GRA Boss To Flee Ghana With His Family
In a scathing Xpost, opposition Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has accused the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government of aiding the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah, and his family in fleeing the country amidst an ongoing investigation into the controversial SML (Strategic Mobilization Limited) contract.
Ablakwa alleges that less than 24 hours after President Akufo-Addo’s press statement on January 2, 2024, announcing an urgent audit into the SML scandal by KPMG, Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah and his entire nuclear family left Ghana. The parliamentarian claims to have tracked the GRA boss’s movements, revealing that they departed the country on TAP Air Portugal flight TP 1527 from Kotoka International Airport Terminal 3.
Interestingly, Ablakwa notes that Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah used his ordinary Ghanaian passport, issued on June 14, 2019, with the last four digits being 5283, instead of his Service Passport with 2702 as its last four digits, which was issued to him as GRA Commissioner-General on October 3, 2019. This, according to Ablakwa, suggests that the GRA boss did not embark on an official trip.
The Owusu-Amoah family’s initial destination, according to Ablakwa, was São Tomé and Príncipe, and there are concerns about their return to Ghana. Ablakwa criticizes the government’s handling of the situation, asserting that the investigations into the SML scandal are nothing but a sham.
The press release from the presidency, signed by Mr. Eugene Arhin, stated that President Akufo-Addo had directed KPMG to complete the audit within two weeks and submit recommendations. However, with Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah allegedly leaving the country clandestinely, questions are being raised about the sincerity of the government’s commitment to a thorough investigation.
READ: Okudzeto Ablakwa Renews Attack On BoG Governor Over Cost Of New Headquarters
In response to the situation, Ablakwa announces that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Caucus in Parliament will demand an urgent inquiry into how Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah left Ghana. The opposition he noted will also identify and sanction those who facilitated his departure despite the president’s assurances of a high-stakes KPMG audit.
