Kwaku Agyeman-Manu
The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has indicated that the government has received a refund of US$ 2,470,000 meant for the purchase of Sputnik V Vaccine back to the National Treasury.
“I am happy, that under our mandate to protect the National purse, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum has indeed refunded the sum of Two Million Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand Dollars (US$ 2,470,000 back to the National Treasury,” he said in a statement.
Mr Agyeman-Manu indicated that the “money is now available to the Ministry of Health for the purpose of purchasing the much-needed vaccines to meet the President’s target of 20 million vaccinations by the end of this year”.
He further assured that the MoH is working assiduously to access vaccines to enable vaccinations to be administered to the public.
“That is the surest way to win the battle against Covid-19.
I wish to thank all Ghanaians for your support in this matter and to assure you that together we will defeat the virus of Covid-19,” he said.
The agreement for the supply of Sputnik V vaccine with Sheikh Al Maktoum acting as a middleman has generated controversy in the country.
After presenting Ghana with 20,000 doses of the vaccine instead of the initially agreed doses of 300,000 for the first batch, the deal was subsequently terminated.
Mr Agyeman-Manu requested a refund of the money paid in a letter addressed to him, a Member of the ruling family of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and titled, “Refund To The Government of Ghana the Balance of 300,00 Doses of Sputnik V Vaccine.”
In a letter signed by the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, who is at the center 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 minus the amount due for the 20,000 doses already supplied to the country by Sheihk Al Maktoum.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri