The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has disclosed that Ghana has made additional financial savings amounting to US$173.25 million and GHC2.63 billion following the cancellation of the upstream and mineral sector components of the controversial Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) revenue assurance contract.
In an addendum to its earlier report on the SML probe, the OSP explained that the savings come on top of the GHC 1.2 billion already secured by the state after the termination of the main revenue assurance agreement.
According to the OSP, the cancelled contracts were structured on a variable fee system linked to Ghana’s exports of crude oil and gold.
Had they proceeded, the state would have been liable to pay approximately US$173 million to SML for crude oil and GHC 2.6 billion for gold exports over a five-year period.
“The contracts, which were based on a variable fee structure linked to exports of crude oil and gold, would have cost the State approximately US$173 million for crude oil and GHC2.6 billion for gold exports over five years,” the OSP stated.
The Special Prosecutor noted that SML did not commence work under these contracts because the arrangement coincided with the KPMG audit ordered by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Following the audit and the OSP’s criminal investigations into the deal, the President John Mahama directed the cancellation of the SML contracts, thereby saving the state the additional costs.
The OSP’s breakdown showed that under the crude oil component, SML would have earned US$2.89 million per month, translating into US$34.46 million annually and US$173.25 million over the five-year period. Similarly, the gold export component would have yielded GHC43.77 million monthly, GHC525.27 million annually, and GHC2.63 billion over five years.
