A Senior Lecturer and Tasks Coordinator on the College of Skilled Research, Accra (UPSA), Dr Eric Boachie Yiadom, has referred to as for the strengthening of nationwide establishments and the embrace of know-how to plug persistent tax income leakages in Ghana.
Talking at a discussion board on “Tackling Tax Income Leakages in Ghana” hosted by the School of Accounting and Finance at UPSA, Dr Yiadom offered findings from an unbiased research on the effectiveness of technological options in income assurance, highlighting Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML) as a case research.
“We can’t construct a nation primarily based on belief. Robust nations are constructed on robust establishments,” Dr Yiadom mentioned. “Whether or not somebody is reliable or not, a strong system ensures compliance.”
Referencing former US President Barack Obama’s historic handle to Ghana’s Parliament in 2009, he quoted the well-known admonition of the then US President, saying, “Africa would not want robust males. It wants robust establishments.”
Dr Yiadom argued that whereas public discourse, together with media exposés and a KPMG audit, has spotlighted gaps in SML’s contract and worth claims, a deeper, extra empirical look is required.
“In tutorial analysis, it isn’t sufficient to depend on secondary reporting. We should interrogate the first information ourselves.”
Dr Yiadom revealed that after formally partaking SML, he was granted entry to their services, permitting for firsthand verification of their know-how methods, together with ultrasonic movement meters, AI-powered surveillance, and computerized reconciliation instruments used within the downstream petroleum sector.
Know-how vs. Income Leakages
Quoting information from regulatory our bodies and coverage assume tanks, together with the Nationwide Petroleum Authority (NPA), Ghana Income Authority (GRA), and Africa Centre for Vitality Coverage (ACEP), Dr Yiadom famous that discrepancies between reported petroleum lifting volumes and precise taxable volumes had beforehand reached 3.2 billion litres in a 12 months. Nonetheless, following SML’s engagement in mid-2020, this determine dropped by over 91%, to 260 million litres yearly.
“Let’s assume, with out admitting, that SML was not the only real motive for this drastic enchancment,” Dr Yiadom posited. “Even then, the timing of the discount aligns immediately with the introduction of SML’s monitoring know-how.”
He acknowledged authentic considerations raised by the KPMG report, together with the appropriateness of SML’s variable price construction and procurement processes. Nonetheless, he argued that risk-reward-based contracts—the place cost is tied to efficiency—needs to be higher built-in into Ghana’s Public Procurement framework to accommodate innovation.
“There’s nowhere within the Public Procurement Act that expressly forbids risk-reward fashions. If something, this can be a name to modernise our procurement legal guidelines to fulfill evolving technological options.”
Redundancy or Reinforcement?
Dr Yiadom conceded that SML’s work appeared to duplicate methods already in place, such because the NPA’s ERDMS and GRA’s ICUMS. Nonetheless, he likened it to inner and exterior audits inside firms—the place overlapping controls are essential to detect inefficiencies and irregularities.
“The presence of a number of layers isn’t a flaw however a safeguard. It’s no totally different from having inner audits earlier than an exterior one and nonetheless going through the Public Accounts Committee,” he mentioned.
He additionally questioned resistance to such technological reinforcement when comparable preparations on the ports—resembling with West Blue and ICUMS—had improved customs classification and blocked leakages.
A name for transparency and unbiased analysis
Dr Yiadom concluded his presentation by urging fellow lecturers and professionals to have interaction immediately with establishments like SML reasonably than rely solely on third-party stories or public commentary.
“If you wish to know what’s really taking place, write to them, go to the location, ask the questions, see the information. That’s how we strengthen our democracy—with information, not assumptions.”
The discussion board, attended by college students, lecturers, coverage makers, and trade stakeholders, continues UPSA’s dedication to offering research-led perception into Ghana’s public finance administration challenges.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Feedback, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform don’t essentially characterize the views or coverage of Multimedia Group Restricted.
Source link
