Speaking on JoyNews after SML held a counter press conference to challenge the findings of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Awuni dismissed the company’s legal posturing as “blackmail”, insisting that public interest demands financial clawback.
The central point of Awuni’s challenge was his insistence that the state holds the leverage, especially since the OSP has already concluded that SML was unjustly enriched.
He drew a clear line, rejecting the notion that contract termination automatically entitles the company to a payout.
“If there’s money to be taken, we have to take it from SML… If you have good evidence to push for any payment, they should proceed to court,” he insisted.
Awuni’s stance aligns with the OSP’s finding that SML received GH₵1.43 billion (or over $125 million) in payments between July 2018 and December 2024, despite the OSP concluding that the company largely lacked the technical capacity and that its services offered no genuine need or value for money.
The OSP, led by Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng, has already moved to recover GH₵125 million from SML.
This recovery amount represents the estimated “unjust enrichment” SML obtained from overpayments under contracts deemed unlawful and secured through “self-serving official patronage”.
