The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) requested that the Office of the President release the complete KPMG report on the revenue assurance agreement between Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The Presidency declined to release the full KPMG report regarding the GRA-SML contract and they justified doing so by citing portion of Right to Information Act.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) requested that the Office of the President release the complete KPMG report on the revenue assurance agreement between Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The MFWA invoked section 18 of the RTI Act to make demand for the release of the full report after the president released only portions of it and failed to make the full report available to the public.
The statement from the presidency on the refusal to put the full report in the public domain clarified that, details of the audit report on the matter contains opinions, advice, deliberations, recommendations, minutes, or consultations and is meant for the president and not for public consumption. According to them, that exempt disclosure of the report under section 5 (1) (a) and (b) (i) of the RTI Act on request.
The statement further claimed the purpose of this exception of disclosure is to safeguard the confidentiality of talks and decisions made at the highest echelons of government and to preserve the integrity of the deliberative process.
The administration went on to add that the opinions, counsel, discussions, and recommendations found in the whole KPMG Audit Report are crucial to the President's decision-making process. As a result, it meets RTI Act exempt information requirements.
However, the statement concluded the President released the main conclusions and suggestions of the KPMG audit in a thorough press release on April 24, 2024, due to the public interest in the GRA-SML contract. This was done in order to respect legal limitations on some disclosures and guarantee that the public is kept informed about the situation.
