Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has urged the government to recover more funds from Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) following revelations about the company’s controversial revenue assurance contract with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
His comments come after the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) announced plans to recover GHS125 million from SML, citing evidence that the company received overpayments from the state.
At a press briefing in Accra on Thursday, October 30, the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, said the amount represented “unjust enrichment” through largely automatic payments that were not tied to verified performance.
However, at a separate press conference on Friday, November 7, SML’s lawyer, Cephas Boyuo, rejected the OSP’s findings, insisting that all payments made to SML were performance-based and fully verified.
Reacting to the lawyer’s comments on Eyewitness News with Sammie Wiafe, Manasseh Azure accused SML of misleading the public and questioned the company’s confidence in avoiding accountability.
“A lot of the things the lawyer said are false. And I’m wondering which assurance the company may have had from some members of government that they are confident that they believe things may be reversed,” he said.
He further criticised what he described as SML’s patronising tone toward the Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, and warned against what appeared to be veiled threats from the company.
“They seemed to be patronising the Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, and at the same time issuing threats that look like blackmail, if you cancel it, we will go and get money.
“It’s not automatic that if contracts are cancelled, you will get your money. If we have strict officials diligent enough to fight for our interest, I strongly believe we should be retrieving more money from SML than the OSP is talking about and not the other way round.”
Manasseh Azure’s investigative report into SML’s contracts with the GRA first brought public attention to the deal, prompting the OSP’s ongoing investigation.
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