Media personality Bridget Otoo has accused the management of Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) of paying money to some journalists to do damage control on its reputation over the KPMG report on its deal with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
In an interview on The KSM show, Bridget Otoo noted that journalists who are paid meagre salaries and are in need of money were bought by SML to write positive stories about the company at a time when its ineffectiveness was brought to light.
“It is there, people are chasing soli before your story can go on air. In 2024, if you pay a journalist GHC3,000, you haven’t committed any crime. Everything we talk about in this country has to do with money. This SML scandal we are talking about, the company has been paid GHC1.4 billion for literally doing no work. So if a journalist takes that small money, which they did, at the point they paid journalists to do PR for them. So everybody wrote a story about SML and what they do,” she said.
President Akufo-Addo released the KPMG audit report on the contentious contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) on Wednesday, May 22.
This followed weeks of pressure from Ghanaians, including civil society organizations, demanding transparency regarding the numerous infractions in the contract.
The audit findings revealed that SML owes the GRA GH¢31.88 million in unpaid taxes for eight months of service provision. This debt includes accrued interest, estimated at GH¢18.50 million as of January 31, 2024. It was also discovered that all these contracts lacked approval from both the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and Parliament.
Furthermore, the report disclosed that the GRA had six service contracts with SML, contradicting the presidency’s initial claim of only three contracts. This discrepancy sharply contrasts with information previously stated in a press release by the Communications Director of the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, on April 24.
These revelations have sparked significant public outrage, with many Ghanaians calling for the immediate cancellation of the deal and the prosecution of those responsible