OSP: SML case reveals deep procurement lapses as Agyebeng faults institutional oversight

The Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) findings in the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) investigation have spotlighted deep-seated weaknesses in Ghana’s public procurement and oversight systems.

Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng said this during a press briefing on Thursday.

According to Agyebeng, repeated warnings from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) against engaging SML were ignored by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Finance.

Documents reviewed show that in June and August 2017, GRA sought to sole-source SML—then known as SMEL—for customs valuation and risk management services despite the company’s lack of experience. The PPA twice rejected the application, describing SMEL as unqualified and unproven.

Yet, just months later, the company was reintroduced under a new name, SML, and awarded lucrative multi-sector revenue assurance contracts from 2018 onwards without PPA approval.

“The pattern demonstrates an entrenched disregard for mandatory procurement processes,” Agyebeng said, citing “increased and emboldened impunity” by public officials.

The OSP report revealed how SML’s involvement was engineered through an “unlawful substitution” of an existing contractor, West Blue Ghana Limited, via a forced subcontracting arrangement that bypassed due process.

Agyebeng added, “The procurement irregularities in this case are not isolated—they reflect a systemic governance failure that allows public officers to act with impunity and without accountability.”