Botched Sputnik V saga has soiled my hard-earned reputation – Agyeman-Manu
- The Health Minister has stated that the botched procurement of the Sputnik V vaccines has tainted the good reputation he had.
- Kwaku Agyeman-Manu said he was shredded into tatters when the issue came up
- He however expressed disappointment in how badly he was treated
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Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, the Health Minister, has stated that the botched procurement of the Sputnik V vaccines has tainted the good reputation he had.
Agyeman-Manu expressed his utmost disappointment over how Ghanaians treated him when the deal to procure vaccines at all cost did not go well.
According to him, his personality was shredded into tatters and he was treated like an outcast.
Source: UGC
Speaking on the floor of Parliament during the debate on the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, he insisted that he was lambasted for trying to get vaccines quickly to help vaccinate Ghanaians against the COVID-19 disease.
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“Mr. Speaker, I am so amazed. When I was rushing to get some vaccines to do vaccinations quickly to meet our development targets, I was found culpable of not coming to Parliament and I was lambasted to the extent that now I don’t have any image in this country,” he said.
Sputnik V scandal
YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Ghana was 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.
Health Ministry explains the cost of Sputnik vaccines
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.
The statement further noted that the government had to rather respond to an offer from the private office of one Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the supply of 3.4 million doses at a unit cost of $19.
It explained that the initial price of $25 had to be negotiated downwards to $19 through efforts of the government.
Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Makhtoum refund Sputnik money to government
Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Makhtoum, the Dubai-based businessman at the centre of the botched Sputnik V procurement saga has finally refunded $2.4million to the government.
A letter sighted by YEN.com.gh, dated August 11, 2021, addresses Kwabena Boadu Oku-Afari, the acting chief director of the Ministry of Health, indicates that once the money is confirmed as received, a receipt should be sent.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
