Finance and economic policy analyst, Senyo Hosi, has disclosed that former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia was embarrassed by the controversial revenue assurance arrangement between Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, November 1, Mr. Hosi claimed that the entire deal was orchestrated by former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and his close associates.
“…If Dr Mahamudu Bawumia will be honest, he told me straight in my face that he was embarrassed by this arrangement and we discussed it. Bawumia did not sign up to this; this is a pure Ken Ofori-Atta, Akore and Adusei — interestingly, his [Adusei] name never comes,” he said.
Mr. Hosi’s comments follow the announcement by the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, of plans to press charges against several individuals implicated in the controversial SML-GRA contracts by the end of November 2025.
Those expected to face prosecution include former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta; former Commissioners-General of the GRA, Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah and Emmanuel Kofi Nti; as well as GRA officials Isaac Crentsil and Kwadwo Damoa. Ernest Akore, a former Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Finance, is also among those to be charged.
The decision follows months of investigations by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), which uncovered alleged acts of corruption, abuse of office, and breaches of procurement laws in the award and execution of the contracts.
According to the Special Prosecutor, evidence gathered by his office points to criminal conduct by some officials during the negotiation, approval, and implementation of the agreements. The OSP is expected to formally announce the specific charges and begin legal proceedings in the coming weeks.
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Thursday, October 30, Mr. Agyebeng said the investigation had revealed “glaring statutory breaches, conflicts of interest, and unjustified payments” linked to the SML contracts.
“There was no genuine need for contracting SML for the work it purported to perform,” the Special Prosecutor stated.
He described the SML contracts as “blighted by statutory breaches,” adding that the company lacked both the infrastructure and professional competence to deliver the services it was contracted to provide.
Mr. Agyebeng further noted that the GRA failed to submit the full agreements between SML and its third-party collaborators — a major lapse that, he said, undermined transparency and accountability in the entire process.
SML contracts breached law and common sense — Manasseh