SML Contracts ‘Cancerous’ and Defective at Every Level – Franklin Cudjoe Blasts Government Over Policy, Financial Failures

President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has launched a scathing critique of the government’s handling of contracts awarded to Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), describing them as “cancerous” and riddled with failures from top to bottom.

Speaking on Citi FM’s “The Big Issue” on Saturday, November 1, Cudjoe said the SML deal exposed deep structural rot in Ghana’s public financial management system, questioning how such a flawed arrangement was conceived, approved, and sustained despite repeated warnings.

“I think the SML thing is cancerous. Beyond it being a duck and an elephant, it is just cancerous. I just can’t imagine that every level of propriety fails—financially, policy-wise,” he said with evident frustration.

According to him, the entire framework of the contract—from conceptualisation to implementation—was devoid of transparency, accountability, and proper policy direction.

“What even hurts me,” he continued, “is that there seems to be no proper guiding policy as to how this thing should be done. I mean, the question is, what was the level of need? Who assessed the necessity, and where was the oversight?”

OSP Findings Deepen Scandal

Cudjoe’s remarks come in the wake of damning findings from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), which revealed that the multi-million-dollar contracts awarded to SML were unnecessary, unlawfully approved, and financially damaging to the state.

According to the OSP’s report, the engagement of SML lacked a legitimate basis, with no clear evidence of need or measurable value provided to justify the vast sums disbursed. Investigations found that key public officials bypassed mandatory approval processes and failed to adhere to basic principles of procurement and public finance law.

The report further indicated that payments to SML were made automatically and repeatedly, without verification of work done, resulting in significant financial losses to the government.

The OSP also uncovered that several of the justifications used to defend the contracts—such as claims that SML was helping to curb revenue leakages in the petroleum downstream sector—were either exaggerated or entirely unsubstantiated.

A Systemic Governance Breakdown

Franklin Cudjoe emphasised that the SML scandal was not merely about a single contract but reflected a systemic collapse in oversight and governance, where institutions failed to perform their roles.

He lamented that public agencies that were supposed to ensure due diligence instead enabled questionable deals, either through negligence or complicity.

“The SML debacle shows what happens when institutions fail to act. Every layer—from the Ministry of Finance to oversight agencies—collapsed. It tells you we are not learning from past mistakes,” he said.

Cudjoe urged President John Mahama’s administration to draw hard lessons from the scandal by ensuring tighter procurement laws, mandatory value-for-money assessments, and robust auditing of all state-linked contracts before execution.

Wider Implications for Fiscal Discipline

Economists and policy experts have since echoed Cudjoe’s concerns, warning that the scandal could further erode public trust and strain Ghana’s fiscal credibility amid ongoing efforts to stabilise the post-restructuring economy.

With billions of cedis reportedly paid to SML over multiple years for allegedly unverified services, analysts say the issue underscores the urgent need for structural reforms to restore fiscal discipline and institutional integrity.

“This is not just about one company. It is about the credibility of Ghana’s financial governance system,” one policy analyst told Citi News. “If we can’t track where the money goes, how can we expect investors and taxpayers to trust the system?”

As pressure mounts for prosecutions and full recovery of funds, the SML controversy continues to cast a long shadow over public sector contracting in Ghana, raising fresh questions about accountability, oversight, and political responsibility in the management of national resources.