The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has accused the Office of the President for abusing the provisions in the Right to Information law, to hide the facts of the Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) deal.
The Foundation says it is disappointed at the presidency for refusing to release the full report on the contract.
According to the audit findings, SML received over GHC1 billion from 2018 to date while partially fulfilling its obligations.
The MFWA applied for the report under the Right to Information Act, but the Office of the President cited sections 5(1)(a) and (b)(i) of the RTI Act, stressing that it has the right to reject requests for information deemed “exempt.”
Executive Director of the Foundation, Sulemana Braimah, speaking on SUNRISE on 3FM with Johnnie Hughes, said the posture of the presidency is disturbing and abusive.
“The posture of the presidency is a clear indication that the President doesn’t want to be transparent as far as the deal is concerned. While writing to the President I felt that given that the President talks a lot about the RTI Act, he will do the needful, but I guess I was wrong. I think the President is hiding behind legalese to hide the facts of the deal,” he said.
Asked whether the RTI Bill needed any reviews to reduce any such abuse, Mr Braimah stated that, “The law is perfect, it’s just a case of the President abusing the provisions in the RTI law. The law is clear on what documents can be requested or not. And what I am requesting for is not part of the classified documents. The President has already made his recommendations and directives already, so the report can be given out.”
Related article:
GRA-SML deal: Refusal to release full report raises suspicion – Edem Senanu
Meanwhile, the President’s refusal to release the full KPMG audit report on the controversial revenue mobilization agreement between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilization Ghana Ltd (SML) continues to receive backlash.
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GRA-SML: KPMG report is exempt information under RTI – Presidency to MFWA
