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Lawyer for Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), Cephas Boyuo, has dismissed assertions by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) that the company’s use of waybill scanning in its operations with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) indicated a system failure. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, November 7, Mr. Boyuo described the OSP’s conclusion as a clear misunderstanding of the petroleum downstream industry, explaining that waybill authentication is a standard verification method, not a sign of malfunction. “The OSP’s conclusion that the Way Bill scanning was a sign of system failure simply shows a lack of understanding of the petroleum business in the downstream. SML used waybill authentications, not because its metering failed. Because it is a correct base method for resolving discrepancies,” he said. He urged the OSP to seek technical guidance before making such claims, emphasising that SML’s metering systems were properly installed and certified by competent authorities. “The OSP should have sought some education, respectfully, in the field before making that assertion. Claiming that SML resorted to a waybill is incorrect, totally incorrect. “SML engaged certified international engineers. Every installation was jointly supervised by GRA and validated by the Ghana Standard Authority. SML’s meters have never failed.The system has never gone down; the notion that SML resorted to waybill scanning because metering failed is factually incorrect. The meters have never failed,” he said. Mr. Boyuo’s remarks follow recent findings by the OSP alleging that SML lacked technical capacity and operated outside proper institutional coordination in its revenue assurance contract with the GRA.
