Ghana

I couldn't think properly because of pressure - Health Minister on not getting approval for Sputnik V deal

Monday, July 19, 2021 at 3:56 PM by G. Hamelo

Kweku Agyeman Manu has explained why he did not seek Parliamentary approval before signing a deal for Sputnik V vaccine
Speaking before a Parliamentary committee, he stated that he was under pressure to get vaccines for Ghanaians
Manu also added that a situation like that will not happen in future

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Kwaku Agyemang Manu, the Minister of Health, has attributed his inability to seek parliamentary approval before signing a deal for the overpriced Sputnik vaccine deal to a case of not thinking correctly because of pressure.

Speaking before an Adhoc parliamentary committee probing the circumstances under which the vaccine was bought on Monday, July 19, 2021, he stated he was forced to skip the right steps because the situation was dire.

I couldn't think properly because of pressure; Health Minister on not getting approval for Sputnik V deal. Photo source: Hon. Kwaku Agyeman Manu -MP
Source: UGC

The contract with Dubai-based Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum is said to have cost $64.6 million.

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"Madam Chair, I have explained that those were not normal times. And I was seriously in a situation that couldn't make me think properly the way you think that now I will actually address such a situation," says Manu.

"Honourable Chair, I must be very honest with you, at the time, I have mentioned my frustration was the fact that I seriously made that error, and on hindsight, it won't happen any longer."

He shared further insights into why he took the decision without parliamentary approval.

"Honourable chair, very much so, but my frustrations to try to get the vaccines for us at the heat of our second wave. I relied on the executive instrument 61 that was passed by parliament to hide behind the emergency clauses that had been evoked to try to see if I could do that and come to parliament to inform parliament that this is what I have done. And therefore, I need regularization. I need the approval to cover it because we were in dire need of the vaccine. And I had the onus to try to procure the vaccines to vaccinate Ghanaians to protect our lives."

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Skip to 2 minutes 23 seconds to watch the Health Minister talk about the pressure he was under

'Overpriced' Sputnik V vaccines

YEN.com.gh reported on June 10, 2021, that Ghana had been cited by Norwegian news portals in an investigative report for buying the Sputnik V vaccines from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF.)

According to the report, it was bought through some businessmen at an overpriced unit cost which was almost double the original price. The vaccines were purchased at $19 instead of the original buying price of $10.

The Ministry of Health in a statement explained that the vaccines were bought at that price for some peculiar reasons. The Chief Director of the Ministry, Kwabena Boadu Oku-Afari in the statement said the several efforts to get the vaccines from the Russian government proved futile and they had to resort to using middlemen.