SML Saga: It Is A False Assertion To Say You Were Not The Originating Nor Implementing Minister – Manasseh Azure Tells Ken Ofori Atta
Investigative Journalist, Manasseh Awuni Azure has stated the former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta’s assertion that he was not the originating nor implementing Minister of the portfolios in the controversial SML saga cannot be true.
In a Facebook Post on Monday, March 10, 2025, Manasseh Azure posted that all indications have revealed that the former Finance Minister cannot exonerate himself from the financial scandal that transpired under his watch as Finance Minister at the time when the deal was executed.
“In a letter published by the media, the former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, said of the corruption cases for which he is wanted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor: “I was not the originating nor implementing Minister in any of these portfolios.”
“That assertion is false. Here is a letter on the shady SML contract. This letter said the Minister of Finance (Ken Ofori-Atta) had “determined” that the contract should be expanded”, Mr. Azure stated.
According to Manasseh, the Minerals Commission as well as the Petroleum Commission alleged that they had no idea of the said contract, although they were the agencies responsible for the contract extension.
“When I wrote to the Minerals Commission and the Petroleum Commission during my investigation of the SML scandal, they said they didn’t know anything about the contract. These are the state agencies responsible for the sectors Ken Ofori-Atta wanted the contract to extend to.”
“As this letter suggests, even the Ghana Revenue Authority was not involved in determining the scope of the contract, even though the GRA is responsible for revenue collection and losses. The GRA was handed a contract to make inputs because it had co-signed the original contract with the Ministry of Finance.”
“On what basis did Ken Ofori-Atta make this determination when our investigation showed that SML was not delivering the solutions it claimed on its website? When we confronted the company, it admitted the false claims and deleted them from the website”, he quizzed.
Source: Peacefmonline
