High Marks In Corruption Fight
Investigative journalist, Manasseh Awuni Azuri, has highly commended President John Dramani Mahama, for his genuine commitment to the fight against corruption.
The award winning journalist is not just excited about the efforts shown both past and present by the president, leading to the imprisonment of his appointees, he is also amazed about the conducive environment created for journalists of his caliber to do their work.
Unlike in the past when Azuri had to flee out of the country to South Africa under the Akufo-Addo government, he says the current situation is favourable.
Manasseh, whose investigative piece with two others yielded the termination of the controversial Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML) contract with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) over the weekend, acknowledged the enviable record of the president over the years indicating that he has acted on his works, cancelling a number of contracts that were inimical to the country.
Enumerating some of them, he aside the ‘stinky’ SML under investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) who has promised to charge the main actors for court by November, he mentioned other scandalous reports he spearheaded that have been acted upon by the President.
He mentioned them as: the GHS456 million Youth Employment Agency and Zoomlion Ghana Limited contract signed under former President John Agyekum Kufuor, the Ghana Airport Company contract with SML signed few days to the December 2024 general election.
Sharing a picture of him and the President when he visited him this, Manasseh promised to criticize him when need be but assured that in future if he decides to write his next about his practice as a journalist and corruption, he will graciously feature him prominently.
“Mr. President, I will likely demand more and criticize you in the future, but I want you to know that should I ever write the story of my journalism and anti-corruption crusade, you will feature in its glorious pages”, he said.
Below is his full text posted yesterday
THE MAHAMA FACTOR IN MY WORK
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1. In June this year, President John Dramani Mahama announced the discontinuation of the 19-year-old fraudulent contract between the Youth Employment Agency and Zoomlion Ghana Limited. I had been fighting that unconscionable deal for 12 years. The contract was worth GHS456 million a year.
2. In July 2025, an investigation I led revealed how the Ghana Airport Company signed a dubious revenue assurance contract three days before the 2024 election. The shady deal was signed with a mining company owned by the SML CEO. That contract was cancelled as a result of the investigation. Thankfully, no money had been paid in this shady deal to the company, which had only one worker but deployed SML staff to implement the project.
3. In October 2025, President Mahama ordered the Finance Minister to terminate the $500 million dubious contract between SML and the Ministry of Finance/GRA.
Besides the conducive atmosphere, which President Mahama has often afforded journalists like me to do our work, there is no greater motivation and encouragement to investigative journalists than acting on their work. If you reject obscene bribes and risk your life and those of your family, you expect duty bearers to do their part.
President Mahama did a similar thing on my very first investigative story–the GYEEDA Scandal. Two people went to jail and some lost their jobs; more than 10 contracts were cancelled, saving Ghana over $100 million; and a law–the Youth Employment Agency Act–was passed as part of sweeping reforms to stop the bleeding.
Mr. President, I will likely demand more and criticise you in the future, but I want you to know that should I ever write the story of my journalism and anti-corruption crusade, you will feature in its glorious pages.
Thank you, sir.
By Gifty Boateng