Dr. Eric Boachie Yiadom, a senior lecturer from the University of Professional Studies-Accra (UPSA), argues that the key approach to reducing tax revenue losses involves strategically implementing technology throughout essential industries—particularly within the petroleum and mining supply chains.
At a public discussion organized by the Faculty of Accounting and Finance at UPSA about addressing tax revenue losses, he highlighted SML (Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd.) as an illustrative example.
Dr. Yiadom praised the company for implementing real-time monitoring systems to enhance transparency and increase government revenues. He noted that prior to partnering with SML in May 2020, there was an inconsistency amounting to approximately 3.2 billion liters.
After SML became involved, this number decreased to 260 million liters within four months, reflecting a 91.9 percent decline.
He likened the real-time monitoring and verification systems implemented by SML to having a “second pair of eyes” watching over oil movements, drawing parallels with the role of an internal auditor within corporate structures.
SML employs ultrasonic flow meters, AI-driven monitoring, and automated reconciliation systems as an additional validation step for information provided by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
Dr. Yiadom likewise supported the contentious risk-reward compensation structure used by SML, characterizing it as financially responsible for the government—especially within pioneering fields where outcomes can be clearly quantified.
He contended that this framework safeguards public money by tying remuneration to quantifiable outcomes, all while stimulating private capital flow into risky surveillance systems.
As a result, Dr. Yiadom has embraced SML’s latest ventures into the upstream petroleum and solid minerals industries, characterizing these moves as sensible and long-overdue expansions of the company’s activities in the downstream petroleum sector.
Dr. Yaa Serwaa Sarpong, who leads Support Services at SML Ghana, mentioned that this system mirrors the structure for downstream surveillance and gives the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) along with various government bodies immediate visibility into levels of crude oil production and off-takes.
The system is designed to enable reconciliation between production, storage and export volumes – an area previously prone to opacity and under-reporting.
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