Accra: The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has called on President John Dramani Mahama to immediately terminate the remaining contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML). The IEAG made this appeal during a press conference, emphasizing that the issue transcends procurement and touches on justice, governance, and the nation’s credibility both domestically and internationally.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Samson Asaki Awingobit, Executive Secretary of the IEAG, addressed the media regarding the ongoing contract, which he claims is financially draining the nation. Despite a presidential directive issued in April 2024 suspending SML’s upstream petroleum and mineral resources contract due to serious concerns identified in investigative reports by the Fourth Estate and a subsequent KPMG audit, SML allegedly continues to receive payments exceeding $1.43 million monthly under the downstream petroleum contract.
Mr. Awingobit further alleged that while the government is striving to curb financial waste and stabilize the economy, the payments to SML could have been allocated to build schools, hospitals, roads, or reduce business costs. He criticized the redundancy of SML’s role, asserting that the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) already monitors fuel volumes through its digital retail fuel monitoring and bulk road vehicle tracking systems.
The IEAG challenged the necessity of paying a private company for a service already provided by existing systems, questioning who benefits from this redundancy and who is protecting SML. The association recalled that in December 2023, the Fourth Estate revealed that SML was awarded its lucrative contract without a competitive process, noting the company’s lack of prior expertise in revenue assurance.
In response to national backlash, President Nana Akufo-Addo appointed KPMG to investigate the matter. The KPMG audit corroborated concerns raised by civil society, the media, and industry players, leading to the suspension of part of the contract in April 2024. The IEAG emphasized that four months in office was sufficient for President Mahama to review and annul the contract, urging immediate termination of the SML downstream petroleum contract.
The association called for recovery of all payments for unverified services, blacklisting of SML, investigation of officials involved in the contract, and legislative reforms to prohibit sole-sourced contracts in public revenue assurance, with mandatory parliamentary oversight. IEAG also appealed to Parliament, civil society, the Auditor-General, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the diplomatic community, and all patriotic citizens to support its call for truth, justice, and fiscal responsibility.