Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr.
The Managing Editor of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr., has advised the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, to resign from office for breaching procurement processes while trying to procure Sputnik V vaccines from Russia for Ghana through middlemen.
Mr. Agyeman-Manu’s head has received some flak from some sections of the public over his handling of the whole deal which occasioned a by-partisan probe by Parliament.
The parliamentary committee tasked to probe the deal also submitted its report to Parliament on Friday, August 6, 2021, and recommended among other things that the Finance Ministry should retrieve the over $2 million paid the middlemen who were supposed to supply the vaccines to Ghana.
The committee found that the Ministry of Health did not comply with the requirements of Article 181(5) of the constitution in respect of its agreement with an intermediary, Messrs Al Maktoum.
The committee also determined that the agreements were entered into without prior approval by the Public Procurement Authority under Sections 40 and 41 of Act 663.
“The Agreements ensuing from the negotiations have been submitted to the PPA for ratification… Indeed, at the time of completing its work, PPA was yet to do the ratification.
“The committee urges the Minister for Finance to take steps to recover the money due to the Republic in respect of the amount of US$2,850,000.00 (Cedi equivalent of GH¢16,331,640.00) being the cost of the Sputnik V vaccines that were proposed to be procured,” the committee recommended.
The veteran journalist, speaking on Joy FM’s Newsfile programme on Saturday, August 7, 2021, described the deal as an “unmitigated disaster” and suggested that the minister who was once Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, must resign to avoid further embarrassment.
“It is an unmitigated disaster. [There was] No cabinet approval, no PPA approval, and no parliamentary approval. It is a mess. It was an unmitigated disaster. He must do the honourable thing and resign because he cannot defend it. If he was minded to resign, I will vote for him,” Mr. Baako stated.
By Ernest Kofi Adu