• Kwesi Pratt Jnr says the NDC should be blamed for the Sputnik V vaccine mess

• He indicated that as opposition, they should not have approved all the ministers of state in parliament

• He stressed they [NDC] have done a disservice to the country

Kwesi Pratt Jnr, the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, has said the opposition NDC cannot escape the mess of the botched Sputnik V vaccine procurement after monies paid to the Dubai based Sheikh Al Maktoum for undelivered ‘overpriced’ vaccines was refunded.

According to him, the opposition in parliament failed the nation by approving all the ministers that were vetted by the appointments committee without opposing any one of them, therefore, if the country is having problems with the ministers now, then they should be blamed.

“This scandal was exposed largely through the work of Hon Akandoh and Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa. But the opposition in parliament cannot escape the responsibility for the mess. All of these ministers that we are getting problems with; they were presented to parliament for examination and endorsement and they endorsed all of them. They didn’t oppose any one of them; they didn’t raise any questions about them.

“Today, in discussing this matter, people are going back and saying oh this minister for health he told us a lie some time ago, he did that and he did this but it couldn’t feature in his vetting and approval and that is a disservice that the opposition in parliament did this country,” Kwesi Pratt Jnr explained on Alhaji and Alhaji on Pan African TV on Saturday, August, 14.

He added, “we have arrived here, not just because we may have a bad government, but we have arrived here because the opposition also failed to do its work.

“So, the responsibility must be shared equally and equitably. And if we are going to share the responsibility equally and equitably, there are some people in opposition who should be bowing their heads down in shame for the wrongs they have played in bringing us this far.”

Background

Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Health Minister, in his quest to get Ghanaians vaccinated against the novel Coronavirus engaged the services of the Private Office of Sheikh Al Maktoum for the supply of the Sputnik V vaccines. Ghana had already taken delivery of 20,000 out of an expected 300,000 doses.

Sheikh Al Maktoum was paid $2,850,000 for his services out of an expected $5,700,000.

The Sheikh in the letter obtained by GhanaWebalso indicated that no funds had been drawn under the Letter of Credit which expired as of June 2021.

He is also expecting a payment receipt once the funds are credited to the government bank account.

The refund is minus the cost of 20,000 doses ($380,000) supplied by the businessman.

Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, decided to refund the money following a request from the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, who is at the moment on a two-week leave.

The supply of the vaccines hit a snag, leading to the termination of the agreement between the businessman and Ghana’s Ministry of Health in July this year.

At a nine-member parliamentary ad-hoc committee probe on the issue, the embattled Health Minister admitted to entering into the contract with the Dubai Sheikh, without parliamentary approval.

He indicated that he approved the purchase of US$64.6 million contracts for the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia, out of the exigencies of the time.

That act by the Minister, who is a former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, violated the requirement of Article 181 (5) of the 1992 constitution.

The minister explained that the goal was to get vaccines to save the lives of the people by hook or crook, and planned to move to seek formal parliamentary processes thereafter.

But the nine-member ad-hoc committee report indicated that the health minister failed in seeking parliamentary approval, regardless of the pressure at the time and that could not substitute due provisions enshrined in the constitution.

Meanwhile, several civil society organisations, pressure groups, and individuals have expressed disgust over the revelations on the deal, calling for the head of the minister.