Ace investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, has refuted claims by former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta that he was not responsible for the controversial contract involving Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML).
Manasseh Awuni, who conducted an extensive investigation into the scandal, provided documentary evidence contradicting the former minister’s assertions.
In a statement published by the media, Ofori-Atta distanced himself from allegations of corruption being probed by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), stating, “I was not the originating nor implementing Minister in any of these portfolios.”
However, Manesseh described this assertion as false, citing an official document from the Ministry of Finance, which clearly shows Ofori-Atta’s direct involvement in expanding the scope of SML’s contract.
Manasseh Awuni revealed a letter dated June 22, 2023, issued by the Ministry of Finance and signed by its chief de Cabinet, Ernest Akore.
The letter explicitly stated that “the Honorable Minister has determined that there is a need to monitor the production and shipment of oil and gold out of the country.”
It further indicated that the minister wanted to expand the scope of revenue assurance work being carried out by SML to include upstream oil drilling by oil production companies and gold mining firms.
Despite Mr Ofori-Atta’s denial of involvement, the letter proves that he played a key role in determining that SML’s contract should be expanded.
According to Manasseh Awuni, this contradicts the former minister’s claim of non-involvement and raises serious questions about transparency and accountability in the awarding of the contract.
State Institutions Excluded from Key Decision-Making
Manesseh Awuni’s investigative work revealed that major state institutions responsible for overseeing petroleum and mineral resources were not consulted before the contract expansion.
“When I wrote to the Minerals Commission and the Petroleum Commission during my investigation of the SML scandal, they said they didn’t know anything about the contract. These are the state agencies responsible for the sectors Ken Ofori-Atta wanted the contract to extend to.”
Mannsseh Awuni Azure, Ace Investigative Journalist
This revelation suggests that the contract’s scope was determined without the input of key regulatory bodies.
According to Manasseh, even the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), which co-signed the original contract with the Ministry of Finance, was only asked to review the revised contract after Ofori-Atta had already made his determination.
SML’s False Claims and Admission of Misrepresentation
Further deepening the controversy, Mansseh Awuni disclosed that SML had misrepresented its capabilities in its original contract.
His investigation found that the company was not delivering the solutions it had claimed on its website, adding that when confronted with these findings, SML admitted to the false claims and subsequently removed them from its website.
This revelation raises concerns about due diligence in awarding the contract and the former minister’s role in the process. It also strengthens the argument that the expansion of the contract was made without proper oversight and evaluation of SML’s actual performance.
Following these revelations, Manasseh urged the former finance minister to provide a clearer explanation of his role in the SML contract..
Manasseh Azure Awuni’s latest exposé on the SML scandal has put former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta on the defensive, challenging his claim of innocence in the controversial contract.
The emergence of official correspondence from the Ministry of Finance contradicts Ofori-Atta’s assertions and suggests that he was directly involved in expanding SML’s contract without proper consultations.
The revelations underscore the importance of transparency in public financial management and the need for rigorous scrutiny of contracts that have significant implications for the nation’s revenue mobilization efforts.
