Government did not pay KRL on behalf of party

The Ministry of Finance on Thursday said a recent article published anonymously on August 10 on the website Open Source Investigations (OSI) and carried on other local electronic and print media was a misrepresentation of the facts.

The articles cited documents which KRL filed with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017 to infer that KRL International was providing services for a Ghanaian political party, while being paid by the Government of Ghana.

“This is incorrect. The article is a clear misrepresentation of the facts as it relates to Ministry of Finance’s contractual relationship with, and fee payments to, KRL International LLC.

“The Ministry’s relationship with KRL is transparent and consistent with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act,” a statement issued by the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra stated.

According to the statement, “the Ministry of Finance signed its first agreement with KRL, for Consultancy services, on June 28th, 2017, to provide consultancy services in support of this Ministry’s work in the United States and the international community in the area of strategic communications, investment promotion and government relations.

“This was after the Ministry had applied and received approval from the Public Procurement Authority, pursuant to Section 40 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 633) (as amended)”.

The Finance Ministry statement said, “payments to KRL for services to the Ministry did not commence until after the contract had been signed, and after delivery of services to the Ministry.

“KRL have distinguished themselves in using their expertise to project Ghana on the global stage, presenting Ghana’s true picture as a pillar of stability in Africa and an attractive destination for investment”.