)
He said despite the negligence of the Minister in by passing Parliament in signing the contract for the vaccine procurement, his ability to retrieve monies paid to the suppliers should ern him some plaudits.
In an editorial on his show on Tuesday, August 10, Mr. Adom-Otchere posits that the clause included in the contract by the Ministry of Health for a refund if the vaccines are not supplied should be applauded.
“7/10 is our dashboard score for Kwaku Agyeman Manu at the end of the story for the vaccine Sputnik V procurement processes. Our verdict is that at the end of the day, for the fact that he protected the public purse, for the fact that he brought the money back, for the fact that the contract went sour but he was able to secure the money and that is our most fundamental interest, we think Agyeman Manu deserves a 7”.
Paul Adom-Otchere also argued that for the fact that the Minister envisaged such challenges and put a clause in the contract that will allow the state to retrieve its money back is commendable.
)
)
)
“Kwaku Agyeman Manu had done some fidelity to the state. He did a contract with Al Maktoum, nevermind he didn’t go to Parliament, nevermind he didn’t tell cabinet because it was an emergency situation. But in the contract the Minister of Health was mindful to put in the contract a clause that he can fall back on when there is a problem and that’s laudable.”
The minister has been in the news with calls for his resignation or he is fired by the president after it emerged that Ghana paid $2.8 million to Sheikh Al Maktoum for the procurement of Sputnik V vaccine despite his earlier claim that the state has not expended any money towards the procurement of the vaccine through the Dubai-based businessman.
)
Kwaku Agyeman Manu, Health Minister
A letter dated August 2, 2021, and signed by the Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, and addressed to the businessman requested a refund of the amount paid for undelivered doses of the vaccine, to which he has agreed.
Mr. Kwaku Agyemang Manu in the letter said, “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 of April 2021, funds were transferred into your accounts as fifty percent (50%) advance for the initial batch of 300,000 doses.”
The letter was in reference to an earlier one dated August 5, 2021, from Sheikh Al Maktoum to the Ministry of Health.
Watch Paul Adom-Otchere's scorecard of the Minister below