Dr Joshua Zaato, a Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, has said politicians are turning State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) into milking cows.
According to Dr Zaato, Ghana’s increasing incidence of corruption in the public sector is due to political patronage.
Dr Zaato noted that Politicians see a position in State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) as their birthright.
Speaking on TV3’s The KeyPoints on November 1, Dr Zaato explained, “The political people think they have a birthright for a position in State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). That culture has to be curbed. If we don’t do that, then we are turning these SOEs into milking cows”.
He noted that, “there is another culture. If you are a public servant and you steal, we say ‘everybody chops at their workside’. The high-profile corruption cases are politicians, but we tend to trivialise corruption by public servants.
“What is happening now is due to poor management. Today, there are SOEs which do not have boards for 8 months. The board is supposed to guide you and approve all that you do. But these men and women are already working. Before the board comes in, the CEO will know more than you, and before you realise you are just coming in to approve things,” he explained.
He added, “The right thing is that the board is there, the CEO comes in, and we approve you. So that is one area we have to look at to ensure that we do the appointment right.
His comments come on the back of the OSP naming former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta as the chief patron, supporter, and promoter of the SML deal.
In a detailed press briefing, Kissi Agyebeng revealed that the SML (Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited), which aimed to provide revenue assurance services in the petroleum, mining, and liquid bulk distribution (LBD) sectors, lacked a legitimate operational requirement.
According to Kissi Agyabeng, both Ofori-Atta and SML management were criminally minded in their operations.
He emphasised that the OSPs’ investigation established that the SML contract was not grounded in any genuine operational need, adding that the payment made to SML was a misuse of public funds.
Kissi Agyabeng, addressing a press conference on Thursday, October 30, revealed that the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) lacked both the tools and technical competence to execute the audit and revenue assurance services that it was contracted to perform for the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
He highlighted that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) uncovered glaring statutory breaches, conflicts of interest, and unjustified payments.
Speaking to the media, he stated, “There was no genuine need for contracting SML for the work it purported to perform”.
Kissi Agyabeng described the SML agreements as blighted by statutory breaches.
He added that the GRA failed to submit the full agreements between SML and its third-party collaborators, “GRA failed to submit the agreement between SML and other parties, such omissions violated public procurement and governance protocols”.
Meanwhile, Kissi Agyebeng has revealed his outfit seeks to recover ₵125 million from the controversial revenue assurance contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and SML (Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited).
Kissi Agyebeng also revealed he will press charges against the individual implicated in the controversial revenue assurance contracts between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) by the end of November 2025.
The Special Prosecutor named, former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, former Commissioner-Generals of the GRA — Rev Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah and Emmanuel Kofi Nti, also GRA officials, Isaac Crentsil, and Kwadwo Damoa. A former member of the Finance Ministry, Ernest Akore, are expected to be charged before the end of November 2025.