‘Agyeman Manu shouldn’t have burdened himself alone even in an emergency’ – Segbefia
You had no right to jump procedures and burdened yourself alone even if it was an emergency – Alex Segbefia tells Health Minister
A former Minister for Health, Alex Segbefia, says the Minister for Health, Kweku Agyeman Manu, has himself to blame for the controversy surrounding the botched Sputnik V vaccine procurement deal.
According to him, the Minister did not have the right to side-step due procedure in the procurement process of the vaccine, even in an emergency situation.
Speaking on Accra based Citi FM, monitored by myactiveonline.com he said, although the COVID-19 outbreak presented a situation that required that the government urgently secures vaccines to vaccinate the population, the sector minister should have sought audience with President Akufo-Addo or the government’s COVID-19 team for advice before initiating moves to procure the Sputnik V vaccine.
“I think that my minister is in a difficult place and it is unfortunate. He could have had the benefit of the President himself or could have had an emergency cabinet meeting called because we had an emergency. It would have been discussed and the Attorney General would give advice immediately on what could be done,” he said.
He added that “we empathize with him on everything that has gone on, but does that give you the right to breach all processes and procedures when you have a process that should have allowed it to become a collective decision as against an individual decision?” he quizzed.
Answering questions from a bi-partisan parliamentary committee set up to probe the controversial Sputnik V vaccine procurement through a middleman, Sheikh Al-Maktoum, the Minister of Health said the urgent and critical nature of the circumstances at the time, did not permit him to use the right channels.
“I relied on the Executive Instrument 61 which was passed by Parliament to hide behind the emergency clauses that had been invoked to try to see that if I could do that [procure the vaccines], and later inform Parliament that this is what I had done, and I needed regularization…I was seriously in a situation that could not make me think properly,” he said.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
