SML drags Fourth Estate to court over GRA contract brouhaha

The Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), a revenue assurance company, has sued the Fourth Estate and ace investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure for defamation.

SML has dragged the Fourth Estate and Manasseh to court for allegedly publishing falsehood about its dealing with the Ghana Revenue Authority in latter part of the year 2023.

In the suit, dated February 15, 2024 SML is demanding total damages of GH¢10 million, GH¢1 million for general damage of defamation, whilst GH¢9 million is being requested for exemplary damage for reckless and malicious report.

SML, through its Solicitors, Sam Okudzeto & Associates, is seeking a perpetual injunction on the defendants, Fourth Estate and Manasseh, from further publishing any defamatory material about the company.

The plaintiff, SML, is further seeking a retraction and apology from the defendants by the same means and prominence, as well as any other order that the Accra High Court may deem fit.

According to Plaintiff, the reportage has tarnished its image in the eyes of the public and right-thinking members of society.

According to the writ, this public hatred and outrage towards the plaintiff has been expressed by former President John Dramani Mahama sometime in January 2024, that if he is re-elected as President of Ghana, he will terminate the said contract, which has been described as shady by the Defendants.

Plaintiff also alleges that the defendants had failed to publish rejoinders as well as refused to retract and apologise to the company over the alleged false publication.

The defendants have been given eight days, including day of service to enter appearance. Failure will attract a default judgment to be entered in favour of the plaintiff.

Statement of claim

According to the writ, the plaintiff is a limited liability company, registered under the laws of Ghana and in the business of providing revenue assurance services, such as transaction audit services and external price verification services, through the deployment of high-end digital and electronic systems.

It further states that the first defendant, Fourth Estate, is a Ghanaian registered non-profit organisation with interest in accountability, investigative journalism and promotes independent and critical research based journalism.

The second defendant, Manasseh, is a journalist working with the 1st defendant, Fourth Estate.

The Plaintiff has taken on the defendants for their reportage on a contract that it secured with GRA on January 1, 2019 to provide Transaction Audit Services and External Price Verification Services within its customs operations.

It was the plaintiff’s case that GRA extended its audit services to cover operations within the petroleum downstream sector pursuant to contracts dated April 1st and October 3rd, 2019.

The writ explained that the GRA, in an effort to improve revenue mobilisation in the country by eliminating revenue leakages within the downstream petroleum sector at the Bulk Distribution Depots, entered five years contract with the plaintiff.

It claims that since the commencement of the contract, the Ghana Revenue Authority, has significantly increased revenue from the downstream petroleum sector because of the Plaintiff’ work.

Furthermore, with proven integrity, capability and capacity to improve revenue mobilisation in the downstream petroleum sector, using high-end technological and digital solutions, the Ghana Revenue Authority in 2023 extended the scope of the existing contracts between the parties, to include the upstream petroleum and minerals revenue audit.

It said this new agreement is known as the Contract for the Consolidation of Revenue Assurance Services and is for a term of five years. And the parties to this contract are the Ministry of Finance, the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Plaintiff.

The Plaintiff says that per the terms of the contract, the services to be rendered by the Plaintiff are to be on a Risk-Reward basis.

The Plaintiff avers that on December 18, 2023 the Defendants published a documentary about the Plaintiff on YouTube with the defamatory title: “The GHS 3 Billion Lie & The Billion-dollar contract”.

The Plaintiff avers that YouTube is a famous international video sharing application (“the App”) accessible not only to the Ghanaian public, but to billions of people all around the world, and the documentary posted on the app by the Defendants has, as of February 9, 2024 garnered 57,000 views by users of the app.

The Plaintiff further avers that the 1st Defendant has approximately 9,300 Subscribers on the app, who typically receive notifications every time the 1st Defendant posts a video.

The Plaintiff says that the content of this publication was to the effect that – the Plaintiff had lied about saving the country GH3 billion, which it would have lost to the downstream petroleum sector.

The Plaintiff further avers that the Defendants have since publishing the documentary on YouTube, also published several articles attacking the Plaintiff regarding its contract with the Ghana Revenue Authority and for that matter the Government of Ghana.

The Plaintiff says that the first of these articles was published on the 1st Defendant’s website on December18, 2023 which article was titled “OSP receives petition to investigate Finance Ministry, GRA and SML”.

The Plaintiff further avers that In the body of the above-mentioned article Published by the Defendants, the Defendants referred to the plaintiffs contract with the Government of Ghana as “shady”, stating that “the” producers (the Defendants) of the investigative documentary that exposed the shadiness of the contract want the Special Prosecutor to investigate the parties to the contract for corruption and breach of the procurement law”.

The Plaintiff says that on the same December 18, 2023 the Defendants published another article about the Plaintiff with the title: “The GHS 3 Billion Lie: Government Pays Hundreds of Millions to Company in a Shady Deal”.

The Plaintiff says that the Defendants published in the said article that “In a control room in Tema in the Greater Accra Region, officials of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) tried to convince The Fourth Estate of its wild claims that it had helped to save Ghana billions of cedis that would have been lost in the downstream petroleum sector, but for its intervention.”

The Plaintiff says that the use of these words and expressions by the Defendants in their said publication connotes to the public and right-thinking members of society worldwide that Plaintiff lied about its claims.

The Plaintiff says that the Defendants further published in the said article about the Plaintiff that, “The company also tried to justify why it receives up to GH¢24 million monthly payments from the government of Ghana in a questionable contract it signed with the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).”

The Plaintiff says that it has not, as of this date, received any payment in respect of the said contract and will put the Defendants to strict proof thereof.

The Plaintiff says that in another article published by the Defendants on 18th December 2023, the Defendants called the contract between the Plaintiff and the Government of Ghana “questionable”.

The Title of the Article reads: “10 year questionable contract by Finance Minister gives SML over $100 million annually despite false claims.”

The Plaintiff says that the use of these words and expressions by the Defendants is to the effect that the contracts lack validity or legality and was tainted with fraud.

The Plaintiff says that as a matter of fact, after the Defendants’ YouTube documentary of December18, 2023 was brought to Plaintiff’s attention, Plaintiff issued two rejoinders dated December20, 2023, setting the record straight for the public as part of its dedication to truth, transparency, accountability and integrity in its operations and dealings.

The Plaintiff says that despite its rebuttal of Defendants’ claims in its rejoinders, | which were published by the Defendants on their website on December20, 2023, the Defendants again on December22, 2023 and on December 26, 2023, published articles attacking the Plaintiff by continuing to label the Plaintiff’s contract with the Ghana Revenue Authority as “Shady” and “Questionable” without providing to its audience any justification or bases whatsoever for those labels.

The consistent reportage and the pressing of falsehood by the Defendants against the Plaintiff has evoked the feeling of hatred and outrage towards the plaintiff in the eye of the public and the right-thinking society worldwide.

Plaintiff says that the Defendants’ false reportage on Plaintiff’s contract with the Ghana Revenue Authority has also resulted in public reactions and backlash, which has further hurt, marred and damaged the reputation of the Plaintiff in the eyes of Ghanaians, causing distrust and a lack of confidence in the Plaintiff’s operations in the petroleum sector. 

The Plaintiff says that an instance of such public backlash and hatred towards the Plaintiff is when former President John Dramani Mahama stated sometime in January 2024 that he will terminate the Plaintiff’s contract with the Ghana Revenue Authority if he is re-elected as President of Ghana, because the said contract was shady as published by the Defendants.

The Plaintiff says that the said statement made by former President Dramani John Mahama was published on media outlets like GhanaWeb.com, MyJoyOnline.com and the Herald, Ghana.

The Plaintiff says that the onslaught of backlash from the public, which has arisen from the Defendants’ false reportage has adversely impacted Plaintiff’s operations.

The Plaintiff says that although it published rejoinders to the Defendants’ false reportage, the Defendants have failed and/or refused to retract and apologise to the Plaintiff for the false information they have consistently peddled.

The Plaintiff says that from the foregoing, the Defendants have defamed the Plaintiff.

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