IMANI Africa, a prominent policy think tank, has criticised President Akufo-Addo for failing to acknowledge the contributions of The Fourth Estate, a media outlet, to the country’s social discourse.
This criticism stems from The Fourth Estate’s documentary, which revealed details about the revenue assurance contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
Bright Simons, the Honourary Vice President of IMANI Africa, expressed disappointment that the President did not commend The Fourth Estate’s role in bringing these revelations to light.
Mr Simons emphasised that while the President acknowledged KPMG for its audit into the contract, he neglected to recognise The Fourth Estate’s investigative work.
He argued that this omission could undermine advocacy efforts in Ghana, as it may discourage media outlets from pursuing similar investigations in the future.
In an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, April 27, Mr. Simons reiterated that the President’s failure to acknowledge The Fourth Estate’s contribution could have detrimental consequences for the country.
He warned that if this issue is not addressed promptly, Ghana’s interests could suffer as a result.
Mr Simons urged the government to recognize and appreciate the role of the media in holding public institutions accountable. He stressed that fostering an environment where investigative journalism is valued is essential for the country’s development and democracy.
In conclusion, IMANI Africa called on President Akufo-Addo to rectify the situation and give credit where it is due, emphasising the importance of supporting and encouraging media outlets to continue their watchdog role in society.
“First of all, we want to express our gratitude to Multimedia and Joy for the platform and the prime-time support that you give to advocacy in this country by allowing us to express these things to Ghanaians.”
“The second thing is to reestablish again that we are all here discussing this issue The Fourth Estate with policy analysis support from ACEP decided to delve deep into this matter and produce a documentary which occasioned this whole investigation but in the President’s release if you read it carefully nowhere does he mention this but rather ends up praising KPMG which was paid to do this work,” he said.
KPMG, a reputable auditing firm, has completed and presented its report on the contract between GRA and SML to President Akufo-Addo.
Initiated by the President on January 2, 2024, following an exposé by the Fourth Estate, the KPMG audit was originally scheduled to be concluded by Tuesday, January 16, 2024, but due to circumstances, the deadline was extended to Friday, February 23, 2024.
According to the audit findings, SML has received a total of GH¢1,061,054,778 since 2018 while fulfilling its obligations partially.
SML has challenged that finding, claiming however that the report in general justifies the contract.
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