Award-winning investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has stepped up calls for the immediate termination of the contentious contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) in a strongly worded public letter addressed to President John Dramani Mahama.
Notwithstanding the Mahama administration’s promises of a more thorough investigation into such controversial transactions, the renewed call follows ongoing concerns about the deal’s opacity, procurement violations, and purported financial losses.
Manasseh, who played a key role in The Fourth Estate’s investigation that revealed serious flaws in the SML-GRA contract, urged President Mahama to take decisive action and keep his campaign pledge to terminate the contract if elected.
Without holding back, Manasseh accused SML of being dishonest, saying that the company was unable to support its claims of providing vital services to the petroleum industry.
He claimed that instead, SML disavowed previous statements regarding the alleged savings they produced for the state and cleaned its website of such claims.
“It’s been too long. Terminate the contract, retrieve the over $141 million paid to them, and prosecute those involved.”
Manasseh Azure Awuni
The letter, which was copied to important government officials like Joyce Bawah Mogtari, Senior Presidential Aide &Advisor, Hon. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Presidential Spokesperson and Minister of Finance Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, reflects the growing annoyance of civil society groups over what they perceive to be inertia in handling a contract that has long been discredited in the public eye.
The results of the KPMG audit, which former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ordered in response to persistent public pressure, give Manasseh’s call more urgency.
Significant discrepancies in the SML deal’s financial details were discovered during the audit. Although the former President previously stated that SML had received GH¢1.06 billion from the GRA, the KPMG report showed that the actual amount disbursed between 2018 and 2023 was GH¢1.4 billion.
Even more troubling was the fact that payments made to SML for three out of its six service contracts were executed without prior approval from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), in clear contravention of Ghana’s procurement laws.
These revelations, captured on page 31 of the KPMG report, have fuelled suspicions of deliberate efforts to sidestep regulatory scrutiny and facilitate an illegitimate financial arrangement.
The original justification for the SML contract hinged on claims that the company’s technology and monitoring services in the downstream petroleum sector would help curb under-declaration, diversion, and adulteration of fuel products—chronic issues that impact state revenue.
Debunking Claims
However, investigations by The Fourth Estate debunked these claims, revealing that the supposed innovations being touted by SML were already being undertaken by existing institutions such as the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and other contracted service providers.
In a notable backtrack, SML’s Managing Director, Christian Tetteh Sottie, admitted to the discrepancies and took down the claims from the company’s website.
The decision made by then-Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in 2023 to extend and broaden SML’s contract to include upstream oil and gold monitoring services, particularly, fueled public indignation.
Concerns about potential financial misconduct and ingrained cronyism were heightened by this contentious decision, which increased the contract’s annual value to over $100 million despite growing criticism and the absence of a competitive procurement process.
Following the KPMG’s audit report, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in compliance with directives given by former President Akufo-Addo on its deal with Strategic Mobilization Ghana Limited (SML), terminated the transaction Audit and External Verification Service Contract (AEVS) with SML.
The GRA further directed that the Upstream Petroleum and Minerals Revenue Audit portions of the contract be suspended pending further review of the contract details.
GRA also decided to amend the measurement Audit for the Downstream Petroleum Products Contract by revising the fee structure to a fixed fee structure. The Authority also said it will thoroughly review other provisions, such as service delivery expectations, termination, and intellectual property rights.
Mahama’s Promise
Then-candidate John Dramani Mahama presented himself as a reformer during the 2024 campaign season, vowing to clear up dubious agreements made by the Akufo-Addo government.
The SML agreement was one of several agreements mentioned in the NDC’s 120-Day Social Contract that would be examined and possibly revoked.
In his public speech on May 7, 2025, commemorating his four months in office, President Mahama reiterated this promise and said that investigations were being conducted into a number of corrupt transactions, including the SML contract.
However, many believe there is still no indication that any real progress has been made. Manasseh noted that the rest of the SML contract is still in effect and that none of the money that was disbursed has been recovered.
This inaction, according to critics like Manasseh, is getting harder to tolerate and could jeopardize Mahama’s anti-corruption stance.
The journalist’s appeal is a political and moral challenge to the Mahama administration, aiming to show that it is willing to hold the people behind dubious transactions accountable, no matter what.
The SML saga, like several controversial deals under the previous administration, remains a litmus test for the integrity of President Mahama’s pledge to restore transparency and fiscal discipline.
In the end, whether this administration acts swiftly or allows the SML contract to fester will shape public confidence in its commitment to governance reforms and anti-corruption principles that formed the bedrock of the NDC’s 2024 campaign.
For now, the ball is squarely in President Mahama’s court.
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