Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu
•Kwesi Pratt is of the view that Kwaku Agyeman-Manu is not the only culprit in the Sputnik V saga
•His belief is premised on the disregard for the procedures by other government agencies that acted on the deal
•He believes they all deserve blame for the botched deal
Journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr maintains that the embattled Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu is being made to take the fall for the actions of others in the Akufo-Addo administration.
Pratt refuses to accept that a public servant of Agyeman-Manu’s caliber will commit the breaches he confessed to.
His belief has been deepened further by the inability of President Nana Addo Dankwa to take a decisive action on the matter.
Speaking on Metro TV on Wednesday, August 11, 2021, Pratt said the failure of the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Ghana and Procurement Authority to identify the obvious ills with the deal gives reason to believe that Agyeman-Manu did not act on his own.
“I’m lookinhg at what is unfolding and I’m getting other impressions. If the Minister of Health, on his own without authority as we are being told went on a frolic and violated the laws of Ghana and treated the laws of procurement with impunity, why has it become so very difficult to deal with the issues of principle?
“It’s becoming evident that this is not about the Minister of Health because if it was about him, it would have been so easier to deal with. It’s becoming a little bit more complicated. And it gets more complicated when you ask some relevant questions.
“What is it about this agreement that made all public officials who dealt with it so blind to the rules? I don’t want to believe that the Minister of Health alone has that clout to be able to blind everybody. There is some other truth we probably don’t know and may never know,” Kwesi Pratt Jnr said.
Kwesi Pratt further expressed some sympathy for Agyeman-Manu who he admits has been a great servant of the country.
Pratt is concerned that after decades of service to the country, Agyeman-Manu’s legacy will be the infamous Sputnink V saga.
“I honestly pity the minister. I feel very sad for the minister because he is tacking the flack for others to walk free. He is unable to stand up to his own defence. Something has happened or happening that we cannot get grips over. It makes the minister so pathetic.
“This is a man who has rendered over 20 years sterling public service, look at how it is coming to an end. Don’t you feel sad for him. I feel deeply worried for this minister. He has been chair of PAC so he knows the rules and his performance was sterling,” he said.