GRA/SML Deal: Minerals Commission Denies Involvement in Awarding Contract to SML

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(Martin Kwaku Ayisi, CEO of Minerals Commission)

Martin Kwaku Ayisi, the chief executive officer of the Minerals Commission, has denied that the commission had anything to do with Strategic Mobilization Ghana Limited's (SML) contract to provide revenue assurance services to the gold producing industry. 

This response is in response to a right to information (RTI) request made on behalf of the subject by investigative journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of The Fourth Estate, Manasseh Azure Awuni.

Related To This: SML Won't Be Compensated For Value Addition - Manasseh Azure To GRA

In response, Mr. Ayisi stated that there are no records of losses at the Minerals Commission as a result of revenue calculations made incorrectly in the mining industry. The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Finance awarded the SML contract, which gives the company rights to over $100 million a year for the first five years, with the possibility to extend for an additional five.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo suspended the contract and appointed KPMG, an international audit and accounting firm, to conduct an audit following revelations by The Fourth Estate. The investigation uncovered false claims made by SML about a previous contract awarded by the Finance Ministry and GRA for revenue assurance in the downstream petroleum sector.

Despite SML's assertion that its operations saved Ghana over GHS3 billion, questions arose when revenue figures from the sector contradicted these claims. The GRA supported SML's assertion, despite discrepancies in figures. The Africa Centre for Energy Policy and IMANI Africa challenged GRA's claim, citing data from the Ministry of Finance and the National Petroleum Authority that did not align with the GRA's assertions.

“In the year SML commenced operations (2019/2020), GRA’s data indicates a 5% growth in refined petroleum product consumption relative to the previous year (19.38 million litres). In the same period, the NPA reports a 7% growth (24.71 million litres) in product consumption. In the subsequent year (2020/2021), both GRA and NPA data align, indicating an 11% and 10% growth in product consumption, respectively,” the statement by the CSOs indicated.

The Minerals Commission's response follows a similar statement from the Petroleum Commission, the regulatory body for Ghana's upstream petroleum sector. The Petroleum Commission also stated in response to an earlier RTI request that it had no knowledge of the contract awarded to SML for monitoring oil production in the upstream petroleum sector. Like the Minerals Commission, the Petroleum Commission also clarified that it had no information or reports on any losses in the sector, which was the reason for SML's contract.

Related To This: Akufo-Addo Initiates Probe Into GRA and SML Contract

The Ministry of Finance, which declined to provide Manasseh with a copy of the contract, stated in response to the RTI request that it did not possess reports on revenue losses from agencies in the sectors where SML was contracted to monitor. "We do not have direct information on alleged reports from agencies in the petroleum and mining sectors about losses in the downstream, upstream, and mining sectors," the ministry stated.


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