{"id":102435,"date":"2025-11-08T02:10:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T02:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102435"},"modified":"2025-11-08T02:10:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T02:10:00","slug":"manasseh-azure-disputes-smls-defence-of-gra-contract-labels-claims-falsehoods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102435","title":{"rendered":"Manasseh Azure disputes SML\u2019s Defence of GRA contract, labels claims \u2018falsehoods\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 30 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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The controversy surrounding Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited\u2019s (SML) multi-million-dollar revenue assurance contract with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has deepened, as renowned investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has accused the company of deliberately misrepresenting the facts to the public.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the dispute is SML\u2019s recent press conference, where the company\u2019s legal counsel, Cephas Boyuo, publicly refuted the Office of the Special Prosecutor\u2019s (OSP) interim findings. The OSP had reported that SML lacked the required technical capacity and had been involved in contractual irregularities\u2014a claim SML strenuously denied on November 7 during its media briefing in Accra.<\/p>\n

SML\u2019s lawyer sought to assure the public that their contract with GRA was above board, performance-based, and fully compliant with procurement regulations. But on Citi FM\u2019s Eyewitness News, Manasseh Azure Awuni pushed back strongly, urging Ghanaians to scrutinize the details.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe comments I heard from SML\u2019s lawyers were not surprising. Much of it was falsehoods. They have peddled these falsehoods after we caught them pants down.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Azure, whose investigative reporting in late 2023 first exposed the contract\u2019s terms and triggered the OSP\u2019s probe, specifically challenged SML\u2019s assertion that payments to them were tied to performance outcomes.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe SML lawyer is trying to tell Ghanaians that the company is paid based on performance, which is false,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He further detailed the contract\u2019s fee structure, revealing that SML was entitled to lucrative payments regardless of demonstrated results or revenue increases for the state.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf anybody ever gets to speak to them, let them read the payments clause, the fees from the contract. The upstream petroleum products, Ofori-Atta, instigated it, and the contract said that every barrel of petroleum product we produce, SML should be entitled to $75 per barrel.<\/p>\n

So, at the time we were producing 150,000 barrels a day, this company will be making $120,000 daily, not tied to any performance, so what the lawyer said is false.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Public records and GRA data indicate that at Ghana\u2019s peak crude oil output of 150,000 barrels per day, SML\u2019s contract could yield an annual payout exceeding $43 million\u2014regardless of whether the company\u2019s interventions generated measurable value for the tax authority or state coffers.<\/p>\n

The controversy has drawn widespread attention, with civil society groups and anti-corruption campaigners calling for greater transparency and the renegotiation or cancellation of state contracts that offer guaranteed payments without clear deliverables. The OSP\u2019s investigation remains ongoing, with its final report expected to recommend reforms in public procurement and revenue assurance contracting.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, SML maintains its innocence and continues to operate under the disputed contract, even as pressure mounts from the public and Parliament for a full account of the deal\u2019s origins, execution, and impact.<\/p>\n

Azure\u2019s revelations, and the pushback from SML, highlight the critical role of investigative journalism in safeguarding public funds and holding both private contractors and state agencies to account.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ManassehThe controversy surrounding Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited\u2019s (SML) multi-million-dollar revenue assurance contract with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has deepened, as renowned investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has accused the company of deliberately misrepresenting the facts to the public.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12116,11859,1883,117,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-azure","category-manasseh","category-national","category-news","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=102435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102435\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=102435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=102435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=102435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}