{"id":102439,"date":"2025-11-08T05:53:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T05:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102439"},"modified":"2025-11-08T05:53:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T05:53:37","slug":"if-there-is-any-money-to-take-it-has-to-be-taken-from-sml-manasseh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102439","title":{"rendered":"\u2018If there is any money to take, it has to be taken from SML\u2019 \u2013 Manasseh"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>1 Minute, 18 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
\n

Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has intensified pressure on Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) and the government, arguing vehemently that the state should be focused on recovering money from the revenue assurance company, rather than being threatened with compensation claims following the termination of its controversial contracts.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Friday, November 7, 2025, on JoyNews<\/strong> after SML held a counter press conference to challenge the findings of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Awuni dismissed the company\u2019s legal posturing as \u201cblackmail\u201d, insisting that public interest demands financial clawback.<\/p>\n

The central point of Awuni\u2019s challenge was his insistence that the state holds the leverage, especially since the OSP has already concluded that SML was unjustly enriched. <\/p>\n

He drew a clear line, rejecting the notion that contract termination automatically entitles the company to a payout.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s money to be taken, we have to take it from SML\u2026 If you have good evidence to push for any payment, they should proceed to court,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Awuni\u2019s stance aligns with the OSP\u2019s finding that SML received GH\u20b51.43 billion (or over $125 million) in payments between July 2018 and December 2024, despite the OSP concluding that the company largely lacked the technical capacity and that its services offered no genuine need or value for money.<\/p>\n

The OSP, led by Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng, has already moved to recover GH\u20b5125 million from SML. <\/p>\n

This recovery amount represents the estimated \u201cunjust enrichment\u201d SML obtained from overpayments under contracts deemed unlawful and secured through \u201cself-serving official patronage\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\"'IfInvestigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has intensified pressure on Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) and the government, arguing vehemently that the state should be focused on recovering money<\/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":[3572,1883,117,10,9,5359],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gra","category-national","category-news","category-politics","category-popular","category-sml"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102439","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=102439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102439\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=102439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=102439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=102439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}