The Minister of Health Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has taken steps to retrieve monies paid for the procurement of the botched Sputnik V vaccines.
The ad-hoc committee of Parliament that probed the contract agreements for the purchase and supply of Sputnik-V vaccines has directed the Minister for Finance to take steps to recover an amount of GH¢16.3 million paid to Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum.
The amount the committee stated includes the cost of Sputnik-V vaccines that the Ministry of Health paid to Sheikh Al Maktoum, a member of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai.
The Sheikh had served as the middleman for the procurement.
“The Committee urges the Minister for Finance to take steps to recover the money due 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 said.
It added: “We found that the amount of $2.85 million, representing 50 per cent of the contract sum of $5.7 million, has been paid to Messrs Al Maktoum and this translates into the cedi equivalent of GH¢16.3 million converted at the then prevailing exchange rate of US$1 to GH¢5.73 whereas the minister said he had no knowledge of payment under oath.”
The Minister is currently under fire to resign for taking to seek approval for the agreement.
His critics say he is incompetent to hold office.
But the Minister has in a letter dated August 2, 2021, asked the Sheikh to refine the money paid him for the purchase of some 300,000 vaccines.
The Minister in the latter said the refund was in line with the agreement reached that should there be the termination of the contract, a refund would be done.
Read the full statement below
By: Rainbowradioonline.com
