SML-GRA deal: NDC’s prosecution demand baseless – Majority

The Majority in Parliament has described as baseless, demands by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the prosecution of individuals implicated in the SML-GRA contract.

Members of the Majority caucus contended that there is insufficient evidence to implicate any government official in causing financial loss to the state, thus making prosecution in the SML-GRA deal unjustified.

Speaking to reporters, the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, emphasised that President Akufo-Addo’s decision to initiate a thorough review of the contract serves the public’s best interests.

“Now we are aware that our friends in the NDC are calling for certain prosecutions. I think that they have not paid attention to the whole issue and they only want to do politics as usual. Their call is unfounded for the simple reason that there isn’t any established proof of any officer of state causing financial loss to the state.

“Indeed what they think are payments to SML are not payments borne out of the government’s revenue. If you peruse the agreement, SML is paid out of what it generates and they would have to pay attention to the details. They are paid 0.05% per litre of revenue that they generate as a result of the system that they put in place to monitor activities in the petroleum sector.

“And it is instructive to also note that his company opened its doors to the Mines and Energy Committee to inspect and to see the nature of their operations. What I want to urge our colleagues in the opposition is that they should not kill Ghanaian businesses.

“Often under the guise of due diligence and ensuring that there is transparency, we often get out of control and destroy Ghanaian companies, whereas foreign ones who operate in certain sectors get a kind of protection that makes them develop their business but often Ghanaian businesses suffer,” he stated.