Kwaku Agyeman Manu
Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu has requested a refund of money paid to Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, for the supply of initial 300,000 doses of Sputnik V Vaccine.
This was contained in a letter addressed to Sheikh Al Maktoum, a Member of the ruling family of Dubai, United Arab Emirates and titled, “Refund To The Government of Ghana the Balance of 300,000 Doses of Sputnik V Vaccine.”
In a letter signed by the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, who is at the centre of the deal, it acknowledged the termination of the vaccine supply agreement dated March 9, 2021, for the supply of Sputnik V Vaccine, ‘as per your letter No. ADM/LT/GHA/00/21/101 dated 14th July 2021.’
It formally requested the refund of the remaining amount for the non-supplied doses, which should be the total amount paid to Sheikh Al Maktoum’s office.
The refund will be minus the amount due for the 20,000 doses already supplied to the country by Sheihk Al Maktoum.
The request is in response to an earlier e-mail dated July 25, 2021, in which it was affirmed that on April 13, 2021, funds were transferred into Sheik Al Maktoum accounts as fifty per cent (50%) advance for the initial batch of 300,000 doses for $19 per dose.
“This refund request is in line with clause 8. 2 of the Agreement which states that ‘Any termination of this Agreement, which shall be by notice in writing to the other Party, shall not affect any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities of the Parties that have accrued up to the date of termination.’
“It would be very much appreciated if the amount is transferred back into the sending bank account as per the earlier swift advice dated 9th April 2021,” the letter stated.
The government made a payment of US$2,850,000 to Sheikh Al Maktoum, in the procurement of the Sputnik V vaccine for Covid-19 allegedly, without the knowledge of the health minister.
Head of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Health, Alhaji Inua Yusif, in a letter dated August 3, 2021, and addressed to the nine-member ad-hoc committee set up to probe the procurement of the vaccine indicated, “After the last appearance of the Honourable Minister for Health with his technical team before your Honourable Committee, some new information has come to the notice of the Ministry of Health that, some funds have been transferred by the Government of Ghana to the Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum in respect of the agreement for the supply of Sputnik V Vaccine.”
The ministry of Health attached a document it claimed it received to the letter.
It included a letter from the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to the Bank of Ghana in respect of an order of telegraphic transfer of funds, the Bank of Ghana foreign exchange transfer instructions and the Bank of Ghana notice of transfer of funds from the Government of Ghana to the Private Office of H. H. Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum.
The Health Ministry further explained the health minister did not know about the payment at the time he appeared before the committee adding that “in line with clause 8.2 of the Agreement, the Ministry of Health has taken steps by requesting for the assistance of the Ministry of Finance to recover the remaining amount from the Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, which should be the total amount paid, minus the amount due for the 20,000 doses already supplied.”
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri