Award-winning investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has slammed former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, accusing him of orchestrating what he describes as a “dubious” contract involving Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
In a statement shared on Facebook sighted by MyNewsGh, Manasseh claimed that under the controversial agreement, SML was to receive a fixed percentage of Ghana’s revenue from multiple sources, including every litre of petroleum product sold, every barrel of oil produced, and every ounce of gold mined in the country. The deal also reportedly extended to additional revenue generated from imports at Ghana’s ports and harbours.
He alleged that if not for his investigative team’s exposé, the 2023 consolidated contract would have taken effect, potentially entitling SML to more than 500 million US dollars within the first five years, with an option for renewal.
According to Manasseh, the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana, had stated that SML was not licensed to provide auditing or revenue assurance services.
Despite lacking the required experience and technical capacity, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) allegedly pushed the contract through even after the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) had rejected it on three separate occasions.
“It is not for nothing that Kwesi Pratt Jnr said SML was the ‘mother of all scandals’ in the scandal-ridden Akufo-Addo administration,” Manasseh concluded, framing the deal as one of the most troubling episodes of financial mismanagement under the former president’s government.
