As promised during his campaign in 2024, President John Mahama has ordered the immediate cancellation of all contracts with the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) following the completion of an investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) had labeled the contract signed between SML and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) as “stinky”.
The directive, communicated through a letter signed by the Secretary to the President, Dr. Callistus Mahama, and addressed to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, instructed that all existing agreements with SML be quickly brought to an end.
The letter noted that, the move forms part of the government’s commitment to accountability and transparency in the management of public resources.
“Following the conclusion of the investigation conducted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) into the contracts awarded to Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), I have been directed by His Excellency, the President of the Republic, to request that you take immediate steps to terminate all existing SML-related contracts forthwith.”
Background to the controversial deal
It follows months of scrutiny over the SML contracts, which became the subject of a corruption and corruption-related offences probe by the OSP.
Dr Forson has been tasked to ensure that the termination process is carried out in full compliance with existing financial and legal procedures.
The SML contracts, initially signed with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Finance were intended to provide revenue assurance services, first in the downstream petroleum sector and later expanded to cover upstream petroleum and the mining value chain.
The deal attracted fierce public scrutiny and outrage after investigative reports alleged the company had inflated claims of revenue savings and questioned the legitimacy of its expertise. The contract was also criticized for being single-sourced, and some reports suggested the long-term value could reach over $100 million annually.
The controversy deepened with the OSP’s intervention. The Special Prosecutor’s investigation concluded with a scathing assessment, disputing the justifications for the deal and its value for money.
The OSP’s findings labeled the GRA-SML deal a “masterful and mischievously crafted scheme” and stated that there was “no genuine need” for the contract to perform the obligations SML was purportedly contracted for.
Furthermore, the OSP’s probe uncovered allegations that over GH¢1.4 billion had been paid to SML without adequate monitoring or evaluation. The OSP has also publicly implicated the former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, in connection with the deal.
Lead investigative journalist Manasseh Awuni Azure who with two others investigated and brought the controversial deal into the lime light is over joyed with the latest decision.
He has expressed his appreciation to the president for doing as he said while in opposition.
In a post following the announcement by Dr Mahama, Azure Awuni said:
BREAKING NEWS
President John Dramani Mahama has ordered the immediate cancellation of all SML contracts, following the completion of work by the Office of the Special Prosecutor. The cancellation means the downstream petroleum sector, the upstream petroleum sector, and the mining sector contracts that entitled SML to fixed revenue would not be implemented.
The consolidated SML contract from all the sectors was worth over 500 million dollars for the first five years, and it was to be renewable for another five years.
I thank my colleagues, Adwoa Adobea-Owusu and Evans Aziamor-Mensah, with whom I investigated the dubious deal masterminded by the fugitive Ken Ofori-Atta.
I also thank President Mahama for acting on his promise in 2024 that the NDC government under him would not recognise the shady SML deals.
By Gifty Boateng