The Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) transaction between the Ministry of Finance, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and SML, in recent times, became a subject of intense public scrutiny and widespread criticism following a damning investigation by renowned investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni and his team at the Fourth Estate.
The investigation revealed that the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Finance failed to secure necessary approvals from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) or Parliament before entering into the SML contract.
This revelation and subsequent audit report conducted by KPMG, which revealed damning wrongdoing sparked a heated debate about governance, transparency, and accountability in Ghana’s public sector.
In light of the KPMG report’s findings, five prominent civil society organizations, including the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Human Rights and Governance Centre, and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) have filed a lawsuit against the government.
The suit seeks to recover over GH₵1 billion paid to SML by the Ministry of Finance, underscoring a broader demand for accountability and adherence to the rule of law in public transactions.
Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of the MFWA, articulated the civil society organisations’ stance, emphasizing the need for legal compliance and accountability in public contracts.
He underscored that the legal challenge is not necessarily an endorsement of the KPMG report but rather a call to rectify the irregularities highlighted in the audit.
“I think that if anything at all, we would say that it’s based on some of the findings of the KPMG report that required that actions be taken to ensure that what is due the state comes back to the state”.
Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of the MFWA
Disregard for Ghana’s Procurement Laws
Mr Braimah further criticized the apparent disregard for Ghana’s procurement laws and parliamentary oversight mechanisms in the awarding of the SML contract.
His statement underscored the broader implications of the contract’s approval process—or lack thereof—on governance and the rule of law in Ghana.
“We are a country that is supposed to be governed by law, and laws are not made for the beauty of having laws. Laws are made so that things will be done properly. Laws are made so that there will be equity, there will be fairness, there will be justness, and there will be accountability”.
Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of the MFWA
The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa was unequivocal in his assessment of the SML contract, highlighting that the manner in which it was awarded and executed violated several legal principles, particularly those related to public procurement and parliamentary oversight.
Sulemana Braimah concluded with a call to action, stressing that the breach of these laws should not go unaddressed.
He contended if the country’s laws were breached, then it is imperative that the right things must be done to ensure that if the country lost any money as a result of these breaches such monies are retrieved and sent back to the state.
“So essentially, we are saying the laws were not followed, monies have been paid, and those monies must be brought back to the state,” he stressed.
It is important to recall that earlier this year, in response to growing concerns over the legitimacy of the SML contract, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo tasked KPMG, a global audit firm, with conducting an audit of the transaction.
The SML contract was initially aimed at enhancing revenue assurance across critical sectors of the Ghanaian economy, including the downstream petroleum sector, upstream petroleum production, and the minerals and metals resources value chain.
However, the KPMG report cast a shadow over these intentions by confirming that the GRA did not obtain the necessary approvals from the PPA or Parliament before signing the contract, raising serious questions about the legality and propriety of the deal.
The lawsuit by the five leading civil society organizations is a bold move that seeks not only to recover funds deemed unlawfully paid but also to reinforce the principle that public officials must be held accountable for their actions.
Mr Braimah’s call for the retrieval of funds paid under the SML contract reflects a growing sentiment among Ghanaians that public resources must be protected from misuse and that the government must adhere strictly to established legal frameworks.
