President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has waived the privilege under section 5 of the RTI Act and has caused to be published the full KPMG report in the interest of transparency, good governance, openness and honesty with the public.
Section 5 (1) (a) and (b) (i) states that information prepared for or submitted to the President, or the Vice President, containing opinions, advice, deliberations, recommendations, minutes and consultations is exempt from disclosure.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Presidency said a copy of the KPMG report can be accessed from the website of the Presidency - www.presidency.gov.gh.
It would be called that the Presidency on 8th May 2024, refused the request of the Executive Director of Media Foundation for West Africa's (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, for a full copy of the KPMG Report on the Revenue Assurance contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), as commissioned by the President.
Pursuant to Section 18 of the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), (RTI Act), Sulemana Braimah, wrote to the President requesting a copy of the full report and whose letter was received by the President's office on the 24th April 2024.
But bearing in mind the provisions of the RTI Act, particularly section 5 (1) (a) and (b) (i) of the Act, the President denied the request by MFWA since the KPMG report constituted matters exempt under section 5 of the RTI Act.
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To buttress the President's denial of the request there has been judicial pronouncement, in a case involving the Media Foundation for West Africa, that a request which falls within the categories of information exempt under the RTI Act can be lawfully declined.
But in the interest of transparency and openness, the President, even before the request from MFWA, had, on 24th April 2024, caused to be published a detailed press statement outlining KPMG's findings and recommendations, as well as his directives to the Ministry of Finance and GRA.
President Akufo-Addo reiterated the necessity for those who file applications and requests under the RTI Act to have a thorough understanding of its provisions.
"It is vital to appreciate that the legal framework for access to information includes safeguards intended to protect the sanctity of decision-making at the highest levels of government, which must not be compromised or misused in the pursuit of access to information," the statement added.
