Manasseh Azure calls for full recovery of Funds from SML over GRA contract

Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has called on the government to recover additional funds from Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), following new revelations surrounding 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 retrieve GHS125 million from SML, stating that the company had received excess payments from the state.

At a press briefing in Accra on Thursday, October 30, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng said the amount represented “unjust enrichment” resulting from automatic payments that were not backed by verified performance.

However, at a separate media engagement on Friday, November 7, SML’s lawyer, Cephas Boyuo, dismissed the OSP’s findings, maintaining that all payments made to SML were performance-based and fully validated.

Responding to these remarks on Eyewitness News with Sammie Wiafe, Manasseh Azure accused SML of attempting to mislead the public and questioned the company’s confidence in evading accountability.

“A lot of what the lawyer said is false,” he asserted. “I’m wondering what assurance the company may have received from some members of government that makes them so confident things will be reversed.”

Manasseh further criticised what he described as SML’s “patronising” tone toward the Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, cautioning against what appeared to be subtle threats from the company.

“They seemed to be patronising the Attorney-General while at the same time issuing veiled threats—suggesting that if the contract is cancelled, they’ll seek to recover money,” he said. “It’s not automatic that if contracts are cancelled, payments must follow. If we have diligent officials protecting the public purse, I believe we should be recovering even more from SML than the OSP is currently pursuing.”

Manasseh Azure’s earlier investigative report into SML’s dealings with the GRA first exposed the contract to public scrutiny, ultimately triggering the OSP’s ongoing investigation.