GRA/SML Deal: I Owe You No Apology - Okudzeto Ablakwa to GRA

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Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) are having a heated discussion over some of his statements regarding the Commissioner-General, Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah. 

The impasse started when Ablakwa claimed that the Commissioner-General had left the nation while investigations into a major corruption case connected to the GRA were ongoing. In response, the GRA demanded an apology.

Related To This: GRA/SML Deal: KPMG's Audit Is Deception, Akufo-Addo Has Flown GRA Boss Out Of The Country - Ablakwa

In the midst of this back-and-forth, a GRA statement denied charges made by Ablakwa, stating that Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah was absent from Ghana and was on a scheduled six-day break, with plans to rejoin work on January 15, 2024. 

In strong rebuke, the GRA denounced Ablakwa's comments as "malicious, sensational, misleading and deliberate" in an attempt to tarnish the reputation of the Commissioner-General and the GRA. 

Despite the GRA's demand for an apology, Ablakwa stood firm, asserting in his rejoinder, "Let me assure the GRA that I do not owe them an apology, and they surely are not going to get one." He maintained that the GRA's response fell short of discrediting the insights from his parliamentary oversight, expressing criticism regarding the circumstances surrounding the Commissioner-General's leave amidst the ongoing audit directed by the president.

Related To This: GRA/SML Deal: Akufo-Addo's Audit Order Is A Camouflage - Minority Leader

Notably, Ablakwa underscored discrepancies in the GRA's claim, questioning the characterization of Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah's leave as a mere six days, as it coincided with the full span of the promised two-week audit period. Emphasizing the departure date of the Commissioner-General vis-à-vis the prescribed audit timeline, Ablakwa contended that the portrayal of a six-day leave did not align with the established facts.

Accusing the government of choosing deception and concealment over transparent investigation into the alleged $100 million SML scandal, Ablakwa reiterated his unwavering commitment to upholding constitutional oversight and transparency, affirming, "Nothing will stop us from pursuing our constitutional mandate of parliamentary oversight. Forward ever, backward never! For God and Country. Ghana First."

Read Ablakwa's response below:

I have become aware of the GRA statement. Let me assure the GRA that I do not owe them an apology, and they surely are not going to get one. The GRA response abysmally fails to discredit the findings of my unimpeachable parliamentary oversight.

Consistent with the revelations I published, the GRA has only confirmed that Ghana is the only country in the world where the President orders a crucial audit into a ginormous scandal and the head of the organisation under audit is concurrently allowed to proceed on leave and assisted to travel out of the country during the said audit — absolutely incredulous! Under another incorruptible President, this GRA boss would have been fired for daring to leave the jurisdiction during such a high profile national audit into the create, loot and share scheme he collaborated with Ken Ofori-Atta to perpetrate.

The GRA release further states that Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah is on a 6-day leave and will resume work on January 15, 2024. This does not add up. The GRA Commissioner-General left Ghana on January 3, 2024 — a few hours after the January 2, 2024 presidential directive of a KPMG audit. Leaving Ghana on the 3rd of January, 2024 and resuming work on the 15th of January, 2024 which instructively is the entire period of the promised 2-weeks audit cannot be described as a 6-day leave.

These bizarre developments and blatant official untruths are bound to happen when a corrupt government opts for deception and a grand cover-up instead of an honest, transparent and credible investigation into the US$100million SML scandal. Nothing will stop us from pursuing our constitutional mandate of parliamentary oversight. 

Forward ever, backward never! 

For God and Country. 

Ghana First.


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