Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has come under fire from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
According to the GRA, contrary to what the NDC MP claimed, Dr. Amishaddai Owusu-Amoah, its Commissioner-General, has not fled the nation.
On Wednesday, January 10, the North Tongu MP stated on his Facebook page that less than twenty-four hours after the president ordered investigations, Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, and his nuclear family left the nation.
However, the GRA clarified in a statement dated January 11 that the Commissioner-General is currently on leave, having had his leave approved nearly a month ago, and that he is anticipated to return to work on January 15.
“Management of the GRA wishes to categorically state that, the Commissioner-General of GRA, Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, has not absconded as stated in the said publication.”
“The Commissioner-General is currently on a scheduled six (6) day leave which had been approved a month ago. Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah will resume work on Monday, 15th January 2024. While on leave, every engagement that is required of him or GRA in the Audit by KPMG is being diligently attended to either by himself or one of the commissioners.”
“Management of the GRA finds the publication to be a total misrepresentation of facts. It is a malicious, sensational, misleading, and deliberate attempt to damage the reputation of the Commissioner-General, Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, and the GRA as a whole.
“We hereby demand an immediate retraction of the said publication from all media platforms and an unqualified apology from Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and ghextractives.com for the misrepresentation of facts.”
According to Okudzeto-Ablakwa, the Commissioner-General fled after President Nana Akufo-Addo ordered an investigation into the revenue assurance contract between GRA and Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML).
On January 2, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilization Ghana Ltd (SML) signed a revenue assurance contract. President Akufo-Addo then ordered the contract to be immediately suspended and named KPMG, a tax, advisory, and auditing firm, to undertake an immediate audit of the transaction.
