The National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has raised concerns about the government’s decision to pay Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) GHC1 billion as a contract fee.
According to Gyamfi, it is unjustifiable for the government to enter into a contract where it pays a company such a hefty fee to generate revenue.
Speaking at a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Accra, Gyamfi criticized the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government for what he described as a questionable deal with SML. He questioned the logic behind paying a company GHC1 billion to collect GHC2.4 billion in revenue, stating that such a deal would not be accepted in any serious country.
Gyamfi also disputed the government’s claim that SML had generated over 2.4 billion cedis in revenue, attributing the increase in petroleum revenue to taxes imposed on petroleum products. He called out the government for its flawed justification and lack of transparency in the SML deal.
The audit findings by KPMG on the GRA/SML contract revealed that GHC1.06 billion had been paid to SML between 2018 and January 2024, without the necessary parliamentary approval as required by law.
Despite this, SML denied receiving such a large sum and emphasized its commitment to ethical standards and contributing to Ghana’s development.
