The Government of Ghana has halted all ongoing contractual engagements with Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) after the Office of the Special Prosecutor concluded its probe into the company’s revenue assurance agreements with the Ghana Revenue Authority.
The termination order was issued on the instruction of President John Dramani Mahama and communicated through a directive signed by the Secretary to the President, Dr. Callistus Mahama. The Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has been tasked with executing the directive immediately.
The OSP’s investigation, announced by Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng, reviewed the procurement and performance of SML’s contracts, including claims of questionable value for money and improper justification for the company’s involvement in revenue monitoring.
The findings established that the services assigned to SML did not genuinely require an external contractor and were driven by personal interests within the system rather than a national need.
SML has pushed back against the conclusions, insisting that it operated transparently and delivered measurable revenue protection outcomes for the state. The company maintains that it is locally owned and non-partisan, arguing that its collaboration with the GRA was designed under a performance-based model where payments were tied to verified results.
The fallout from the investigation builds on earlier actions by the GRA, which in May 2024 terminated some components of SML’s contract under the direction of former President Nana Akufo-Addo. Those cancellations affected the transaction audit and external verification services, while other revenue audit elements were suspended pending further review.
The GRA also moved to update the downstream petroleum measurement service structure to a fixed-fee arrangement and announced even broader assessments of contractual clauses and service expectations.
With the latest presidential directive, all SML agreements with the Government have now been officially taken off the books, as the state reassesses how to strengthen revenue mobilisation without reliance on private intermediaries.
