The Minority is arguing for a thorough probe of a government contract with Strategic Mobilization Ghana Limited (SML) in order to avert potential financial losses in Ghana's petroleum sector.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta enlarged the contract and predicted that the state could have to pay an extra $100 million over the next ten years after the Fourth Estate report raised questions about its validity.
John Jinapor, the minority spokesperson on mines and energy and a member of the finance committee, believes that the deal should be immediately put on hold while a parliamentary investigation is carried out. He emphasized the minority's resolve to initiating parliamentary procedures for a comprehensive investigation and commended the Fourth Estate for its research work, citing worries over the contract's financial soundness.
Mr. Jinapor voiced his worries that dishonest politicians and people stand to gain from the arrangement. He said that the Ministry of Petroleum (MPA) had been visited by the Mines and Energy Commission a few weeks prior, and that MPA had stated that they had put in place adequate procedures to stop losses and loopholes.
With the words, "We cannot allow the taxpayer to be burdened with such unnecessary contracts that only go a long way to fill the pockets of individuals," he underlined the urgency of suspending the contract awaiting parliamentary scrutiny. Therefore, we would suggest that the contract be immediately suspended in order to allow for the parliamentary probe."
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Simultaneously, the Special Prosecutor has been petitioned to investigate the Finance Ministry, the Ghana Revenue Authority, and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited over the controversial $1 billion contract for revenue assurance in the petroleum downstream, upstream, and gold mining sectors.
The Editor-in-Chief of The Fourth Estate, Manasseh Azure Awuni, who filed the petition, highlighted the OSP's assurance that action would be taken. He clarified that the petition aims to investigate the deal for corruption and possible breaches of procurement law.
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