A legal storm is brewing over the appointment of Acting Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, with a lawsuit challenging its legality and ethical standing.
The case, filed at the High Court of Justice in Accra by Emmanuella Sarfowaah on January 29, 2025, names Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, the GRA, and the Attorney General as defendants. At the heart of the legal challenge is a claim of conflict of interest, with the plaintiff arguing that Sarpong’s ties to KPMG, a firm with fee-paying contracts with the GRA, render his appointment improper and unlawful.
“The Plaintiff says that by a letter dated 21st day of January 2025, the President of the Republic, acting through his Secretary, purportedly appointed the 1st Defendant as the ‘Acting Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority’ pending receipt of the Constitutionally required advice of the governing Board, given in consultation with the Public Services Commission,” the suit states.
However, Sarfowaah contends that this appointment was made without the necessary advice from the Governing Board of the GRA, which she argues is a statutory requirement under Ghana’s governance framework. She points out that at the time of the appointment, the GRA had no Governing Council to provide the required consultation before the President could make such an appointment.
“The 2nd Defendant is a statutory body with a Governing Council that must provide advice before the President of the Republic of Ghana can appoint a Commissioner-General of the 2nd Defendant in substantive or acting,” the lawsuit notes, arguing that this safeguard was ignored.
Conflict of Interest Allegations
Beyond the governance concerns, the case also raises conflict of interest issues. According to the lawsuit, Sarpong was a Senior Partner at KPMG before his appointment and, as of January 26, 2025, was still listed on the company’s website in that capacity. The plaintiff claims that his appointment creates a direct conflict of interest, given KPMG’s ongoing business relationship with GRA.
“The Plaintiff says that the 1st Defendant before the letter was, and/or still is (website of KPMG as of 26th January, 2025 still listed the 1st Defendant as such), the Senior Partner of KPMG (a foreign accounting firm practicing in Ghana), with ‘Senior Partner’ being defined by the website of KPMG as the Chief Executive Officer of the firm.”
She further argues that Sarpong’s leadership at the GRA while having ties to KPMG risks creating an imbalance in decision-making, especially as KPMG has had fee-paying contractual relationships with the GRA.
“The Plaintiff says that because of the ongoing fee-paying contractual relationship between the 2nd Defendant and KPMG and/or the regularity of the 2nd Defendant entering into a fee-paying contractual relationship with KPMG there is bound to exist or develop a conflict of interest in the 1st Defendant as the head of 2nd Defendant and his personal, direct or vicarious, interest in KPMG.”
The lawsuit claims that this situation violates laws against conflicts of interest in public service, arguing that no public servant should have personal or financial ties to an entity engaged in business with the government agency they lead.
“The laws of Ghana outlaws conflict of interest by a public servant such as the 1st Defendant as purportedly appointed by the letter of the President of the Republic of Ghana dated 21st January, 2025 against his personal interest.”
What the Lawsuit Seeks to Achieve
The plaintiff is asking the court to declare that Sarpong’s appointment is unlawful, arguing that it places him in a position where his past and present professional affiliations create an unavoidable conflict of interest.
“A declaration that the appointment of the 1st Defendant, a former employee of KPMG and/or a person with interest in KPMG or a person who had interest in KPMG, by the President of the Republic of Ghana as the Acting Commissioner-General of the GRA would inevitably or necessarily place the 1st Defendant in a conflict-of-interest situation.”
In addition to seeking a court order to revoke Sarpong’s appointment, Sarfowaah is also pushing for a perpetual injunction preventing the President from making similar appointments in the future.
“An order revoking the appointment of the 1st Defendant, a former employee of KPMG and/or a person with interest in KPMG or a person who had interest in KPMG, by the President of the Republic of Ghana, as the Acting Commissioner-General of the GRA.”
Furthermore, the plaintiff is calling for a legal restriction preventing the GRA’s Governing Council, when constituted, from advising the President on such appointments in the future, arguing that this will prevent future conflicts of interest in leadership selection at the tax authority.
“A perpetual injunction order against the President of the Republic of Ghana restraining him or any person acting by his authority from appointing the 1st Defendant, a former employee of KPMG and/or a person with interest in KPMG or a person who had interest in KPMG, as the Acting and/or the Commissioner-General of the GRA.”
The case is now before the High Court, and its ruling will determine the legal and governance implications of executive appointments and potential conflicts of interest, as claimed by the plaintiff.
