Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu
• The Minority in Parliament is demanding clarity on circumstances surrounding Ghana’s purchase of 3.4 million doses of Sputnik V vaccines
• According to members of the Minority caucus, the vaccines bought at $19 instead of $10 per dose manufacturer price is a rip off
• They want the Minister of Health to appear before parliament and justify the contract
The Minority caucus in Parliament has served notice that it will push for Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu to appear before the house to establish the reasoning behind government’s decision to purchase 3.4 million doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines.
One of the main points of controversy has been around the cost of a dose which is $19 through middlemen as compared to the ex-factory price of $10 per dose.
The Ranking Member on the Health Committee of Parliament, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh in an interview with Citi News monitored by GhanaWeb described the contract as a rip off that required further explanation from government.
“We have indicated to the Chairman of the Health Committee that the Health Minister be brought back to the Committee so that we get the opportunity to ask him more questions for him to clarify. I am sure we will be able to interrogate the issues and interrogate them well.
“We are not going to relax on this particular matter even if it demands that we travel to Russia to look for more information, we will do it,” he stated.
In a related development, Lawyer Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner is asking President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to sack the Minister of Health for his “sloppy” role in the procurement of the vaccines.
“He should know that Ghanaians are very vigilant; so this one, I think the Health Minister has been too sloppy and the least the President can do is to sack him. The President should know that we are very angry with what the Health Minister has done, he has not shown prudence at all and has also shown no sensitivity to how Ghanaians react to issues of money,” Mr Kpebu said in an interview with Citi News.