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Tag: Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccines

  • Sputnik V scandal: I was working so hard to keep us alive, yet my own colleagues were against me – Agyeman Manu

    Sputnik V scandal: I was working so hard to keep us alive, yet my own colleagues were against me – Agyeman Manu

    Former Health Minister Kweku Agyeman Manu has staunchly defended his actions in the procurement of Sputnik V vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago, dismissing allegations and characterizing the situation as a potential setup against him.

    The Dormaa Central Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Agyeman Manu, emphasized that he did not execute the procurement single-handedly, suggesting a coordinated effort by certain individuals to undermine him. He stressed that his primary concern during the pandemic was saving Ghanaian lives, refuting any peripheral considerations at the time.

    In an interview with Starr FM on Wednesday, February 21, he expressed disappointment with some parliamentary colleagues who, according to him, failed to appreciate his explanations.

    Despite being cleared of any wrongdoing, he lamented that the health committee in Parliament did not accept his explanations.

    “I had done no wrong, but some people just wanted to pitch me up and put wrongdoing on me. I was doing that one in good faith, collaborating, and having meetings, I didn’t do that transaction myself alone. Then all of a sudden, ‘You didn’t come to Parliament, in an emergency.’ No matter how much I tried to explain, the health committee in Parliament would not accept anything,” he stated.

    The lawmaker revealed that he felt so disheartened during the episode that he considered requesting charges to be brought against him in court. Despite challenges, he asserted his dedication to serving the nation and adhering to due processes during the procurement, vehemently denying any wrongdoing or violation of the law.

    “No matter how much I tried to explain, the health committee in Parliament would not accept anything. At one stage, I got so down that I was even requesting that they charge me to court because I thought that my explanations would have been accepted in court rather than in front of my own colleagues on the committee. Whether it was mischief or something, I wouldn’t be able to tell, but that was what happened,” he stated.

    “Subsequently, even when that was dying down, another group in the chamber was trying to cite me for perjury, and they were asking for a censure motion on me. These were times that I felt that I had done so well, I was working so hard to try to keep us alive even in the midst of a massive pandemic on the globe,” he explained.

    “I don’t know what is going to happen, but that is what it is. I will still insist and continue to say I did no wrong. I never can be cited for any wrongdoing. But it gave me pressure because that was in my nature,” he insisted.

    The former Health Minister remains resolute in maintaining his innocence and highlighting his commitment to the well-being of Ghanaians during challenging times.

  • Minority initiates another motion for vote of censure against Health Minister

    The Minority in Parliament has reintroduced a private members’ motion for the removal of the Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, over his role in the Sputnik-V vaccines procurement scandal.

    According to Parliament’s Order Paper, the motion was backed by James Avedzi, Mubarak Muntaka, Ahmed Ibrahim, among others.

    The first motion was filed in February 2022.

    The Speaker of Parliament called for a vote of censure against the Minister over allegations of perjury among others when he misrepresented to the ad-hoc committee on oaths that no payment was made under the agreement to the private office of His Highness Shiek Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, a Dubai based businessman contracted by the Health Ministry for the procurement of vaccines.

    The controversy over the vaccines began when a Norwegian newspaper, VG, reported that the government was using the services of middlemen to procure 3.4 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccines. 

    But this was at a higher cost of $19 other than the original factory price of $10 and prompted calls for the abrogation of the procurement contract.

    Mr. Agyemang-Manu had earlier claimed that the state had not made any payments for the vaccine.

    The Health Committee in Parliament had also said the government was not being ripped off in the deal with its chairman, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie saying that the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the procurement of the Sputnik-V vaccines require the use of middlemen whose activities will lead to an increase in the original price.