GHS 3 billion lie: The Fourth Estate’s investigative story on SML wins another award

The Fourth Estate’s groundbreaking investigation, The GHS 3 Billion Lie and the Billion Dollar Contract, has been honored as the Best Fact-Checking Report in West Africa at the inaugural Excellence in Journalism Awards in Abuja, Nigeria.

The Fourth Estate team, comprising Manasseh Azure Awuni, Adwoa Adobea-Owusu, and Evans Aziamor-Mensah, was among 15 journalists from West African countries recognized across various categories.

This marks the second international recognition for The GHS 3 Billion Lie and the Billion Dollar Contract in less than a month. The report was recently adjudged the second-best investigative report in Africa at the prestigious African Investigative Journalism Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The award-winning report exposed critical issues surrounding a sole-sourced revenue assurance contract awarded to Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML) Ghana. Despite lacking prior experience in the downstream petroleum sector, SML claimed to have saved Ghana GH₵ 3 billion in potential revenue losses—a claim unsubstantiated by evidence.

The investigation revealed that SML had secured an expanded contract worth nearly $100 million annually to oversee revenue in the upstream petroleum and gold mining sectors.

Following the exposé, President Akufo-Addo suspended the contract and commissioned KPMG to conduct an independent audit. The audit findings validated The Fourth Estate’s reporting, leading to significant actions, including the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) cancelling the contract’s $450 million external price verification and transaction audit component over five years. Additionally, the $100 million annual audit contract for the upstream petroleum sector was suspended indefinitely. Five civil society organizations also filed a lawsuit demanding the recovery of $141 million already paid to SML.

The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) organized the award ceremony as part of its 2024 Media and Development Conference. The event brought together media professionals, innovators, and thought leaders to discuss the transformative role of media and technology in advancing democracy and development across Africa.

Under the theme Navigating Global Shifts: Media and Technology for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Africa, the conference featured keynote addresses from leaders in media, civil society, academia, and government. Over 250 delegates from various West African countries attended the event.

According to CJID’s Programmes Director, Akintunde Babatunde, the awards received 388 entries from seven countries, showcasing the high caliber of journalism in the sub-region.

“We are thrilled to recognize the exceptional contributions of these journalists to the African media landscape,” said Ajibola Amzat, Chairperson of the panel of judges and Editor at the Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ). “Their work embodies the principles of integrity, innovation, and impact that CJID seeks to promote.”

Other Winners

Kunle Adebajo of HumAngle emerged as the runner-up for the Best Fact-Checking in West Africa.

Godwin Asediba, a journalist with Media General in Ghana, won the Community Reporting category. Jeliliat Nasiru of TheCable Newspaper in Nigeria clinched the award for Best Health Reporting in West Africa.

In the Best Reporting on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) category, Yero Bah of Nigeria Health Watch was declared the winner, while Juliet Buna emerged as the runner-up. The Best Reporting on Social Accountability award went to Jamiu Folarin, a journalist and lecturer, with Kwetey Nartey of Joy News in Ghana taking the runner-up position.

Prosper Ishaya of Social Voices secured the Best Solutions Journalism award, with Olayide Soaga of Prime Progress emerging as the runner-up. Bettina Nwelih of News Central in Nigeria was named the runner-up for the Best Climate Change Reporting category. No winner was declared in this category. According to Mr. Amzat, the submitted entries were primarily environmental or agricultural stories, which did not meet the criteria for climate change reporting.

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