Government Loses GH₵500 Million to “Needless” SML Contract – Manasseh Awuni Exposes Financial Waste

Investigative journalist Manasseh Azuri Awuni has exposed shocking details surrounding the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) contract, describing it as one of the most blatant cases of financial recklessness in recent years. According to Awuni, the Government of Ghana lost over GH₵500 million by paying for services that were not only unnecessary but already fully operational within the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) systems.

Speaking on JoyPrime’s ‘Prime Insight’ on Saturday, November 1, 2025, the renowned journalist drew from a trove of official documents, including the KPMG audit report and the Presidential White Paper, to substantiate his claim that the SML engagement was a needless duplication of existing services.

Redundant Services and Misuse of Public Funds

Mr. Awuni revealed that the controversial contract was for services such as External Price Verification and Transaction Audit, both of which were designed to enhance customs revenue collection and minimize under-declaration at the ports. However, the KPMG audit concluded that these functions were already embedded within the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), meaning there was no justifiable reason to outsource them to a private company.

“If you look at the KPMG report and former President Akufo-Addo’s white paper, it said that these services were already configured into the customs systems,” Awuni explained. “They were not needed, but these services were rendered, and we paid over 500 million cedis for them.”

Awuni emphasised that the findings were not speculative or politically driven, but officially confirmed by both the Presidency and independent auditors. He said that the audit findings were so compelling that the contracts were immediately terminated after the review.

“So those contracts were cancelled as soon as the KPMG audit was done,” he stated.

OSP Findings and High-Level Accountability

The revelations come in the wake of the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) damning report, which described the SML contract as unlawful, unnecessary, and financially injurious to the state. The OSP’s probe also pointed to potential criminal liabilities and recommended the possible prosecution of key officials, including former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and former GRA Commissioner-General Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah.

According to Awuni, both the OSP and KPMG’s findings converge on one point — that Ghana’s government paid colossal sums for work that added no tangible value to the nation’s customs operations.

“The KPMG, the Presidency, the OSP — and anybody who knows these issues — all agreed that the services SML claimed to provide were redundant,” Awuni stressed. “But we still paid over GH₵500 million. That is outright loss to the state.”

Public Accountability and Systemic Failure

Manasseh Awuni’s analysis underscores what he calls a systemic failure in oversight, where multiple layers of government failed to detect or act on glaring signs of redundancy. He questioned how such payments could persist despite the availability of internal systems capable of performing the same functions at no extra cost.

“What even makes it more painful,” he said, “is that these services were already running under GRA’s own technology platforms. So the question is, why were we paying SML at all?”

His revelations have reignited public debate over financial accountability and procurement transparency in Ghana’s public sector. Many governance experts are now calling for a criminal investigation and asset recovery process to reclaim funds unlawfully disbursed under the SML arrangement.

Next Steps and Growing Pressure on Government

The SML scandal continues to draw widespread condemnation from civil society groups, including IMANI Africa and OccupyGhana, who have labelled the deal a symbol of entrenched corruption and weak institutional checks.

With mounting public pressure and renewed calls for accountability, analysts believe the government faces a defining test in how it handles the aftermath of the revelations. The issue, they say, has evolved beyond a financial misstep into a litmus test for anti-corruption governance in Ghana.

As Awuni concluded, the matter goes to the heart of integrity in public office:

“We cannot keep losing hundreds of millions of cedis for nothing and pretend it’s business as usual. This is not just waste — it’s organised negligence.”