CDD & 4 others sued gov’t over ₵1bn paid to SML

Government of Ghana has been sued by five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) seeking to recover over GH₵1 billion paid to Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).

The NGOs are challenging the legality of the payment and seeking accountability for the use of public funds.

Earlier this year, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo directed audit firm KPMG to conduct an audit of the transaction between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and SML. The contract in question was designed to improve revenue assurance in the downstream petroleum sector, upstream petroleum production, and the minerals and metals resources value chain.

The KPMG audit report revealed significant irregularities, including the failure of the GRA to secure the necessary approvals from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and Parliament before entering into the contract with SML.

These findings have raised concerns about the transparency and legality of the agreement.

In light of these revelations, the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Human Rights and Governance Centre, and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) have joined forces to file a lawsuit against the government. The NGOs are seeking to recover the funds and ensure proper oversight of public contracts.

Sulemana Braimah, the Executive Director of MFWA, emphasized in an interview with Citi News on Monday, August 26, that the lawsuit is not driven by personal motives but rather a commitment to safeguarding state resources.

He underscored the importance of holding public institutions accountable for their financial dealings.

“I think that, if anything at all, we would say that it’s based on some of the findings of the KPMG report that required that actions be taken to ensure that what is due to the state comes back to the state.

“It has nothing to do with being satisfied with the KPMG report. If anything at all, that gave us a little more into what we thought were the wrong things that were done in relation to the contract,” he explained.

Mr. Braimah added that, “We are a country that is supposed to be governed by law and laws are not made for the beauty of having laws. Laws are made so that things will be done properly. Laws are made so that there will be equity, there will be fairness, there will be justness and there be accountability and in our view, the award of the SML contract and the delivery of the contract had in our view a number of things that are at variance with the laws of our land particularly and specifically relating to public procurement laws regarding parliamentary oversight and so on.”

“Essentially we are saying if these laws were breached, the right things must be done. If we’ve lost money as a result of these breaches, the money must be retrieved and sent back to the state. So essentially, we are saying the laws were not followed, monies have been paid, and those monies must be brought back to the state,” he stated.