The Executive Director of the Institute of Energy Security (IES), Nana Amoasi VII, has strongly criticized the Finance Ministry's 10-year contract with Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), calling it ‘thievery.'
This follows SML being awarded an additional contract, valued at up to ¢24 million per month, for monitoring and reporting on fuel product diversion and noncompliance in the petroleum industry, tasks already under the National Petroleum Authority's (NPA) purview.
During an interview on Joy FM Top Story, Nana Amoasi VII suggested that contracting a private firm for duties already handled by the NPA appears to be a deliberate move to benefit a select few and may reflect a lack of trust in the existing system.
He emphasized that existing mechanisms, including the NPA and the Custom Excise and Preventive Service, are in place to check product quantity, making the additional contract redundant.
“This is thievery and nothing else,” Nana Amoasi VII declared, expressing concern over what he sees as a clear duplication of tasks for which the government has already paid.
The controversy surrounding the contract has prompted a petition to the Special Prosecutor to investigate the Finance Ministry, the Ghana Revenue Authority, and SML over the $1 billion contract for revenue assurance in the petroleum and gold mining sectors.
Manasseh Azure Awuni, Editor-in-Chief of The Fourth Estate, who filed the petition, highlighted concerns about corruption and potential breaches of procurement law.
In response, the Ranking Member on the Mines and Energy Committee, John Jinapor, expressed satisfaction that the Special Prosecutor had been petitioned, indicating that the Minority side would determine its next course of action based on the outcome of the investigation.
