Health Minister chases middleman for Covid vaccine ‘cash’ after pressure from Ghanaians
Health Ministers goes after middleman for Covid vaccine money
The middleman involved in Ghana’s failed attempt to buy some Sputnik V vaccines, Sheikh Al Maktoum, has promised will refund the money he received for the vaccines he was not able to procure for the government.
This was in response to a letter the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu’s wrote requesting for the money to be refunded following the termination of the agreement. Sheikh Al Maktoum has said he will refund a total of $2,470,000 to Ghana.
The Sheikh has therefore asked the Minister to state the amount that he owes Ghana before he initiates a process to refund.
Owing to this situation which turned into a scandal, the Health Minister has come under immense pressure to vacate his position over the deal. He thus in a bid to remedy the situation asked the Sheikh to refund the money paid him for the doses he could not deliver to Ghana.
The middleman involved in the contract had to cancel the deal because he could not procure the vaccines as promised.
Portions of the Minister’s letter read, “By this letter, I also wish to formally request for the refund of the remaining amount for the non-supplied doses, which should be the total amount paid to your office, minus the amount due for the 20,000 doses you already supplied, in line with your earlier e-mail dated 25th July 2021, in which it was affirmed that on the 13th April 2021, funds were transferred into your accounts as fifty per cent (50%) advance for the initial batch of 300,000 doses.
The ad-hoc committee of Parliament that investigated 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.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
