Criminal Intent Smells! As Health Minister Ignore AG’s Warning Over Russian Sputnik Vaccine

Latest revelations show that Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu may have perjured himself to a parliamentary committee probing his dubious US$60 million contract to acquire some 3.5 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine through an equally dubious Sheikh from Dubai.

The Ministry had agreed to buy the vaccines at US$19 per dose, even though it could have bought it half the price ( US$ 10 per dose) if it had directly sourced it from Russia without a middleman.

When questioned, the Health Minister claimed he was not “thinking properly” when he signed the contract with the private office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum and that he was forced to do that due to the exigencies of the COVID-19 outbreak in Ghana and his eagerness to seek quick access to a functional vaccine amidst global scramble.

However, leaked from the Attorney General’s Department shows that Attorney General (AG), Godfred Dame had warned the Minister not to sign the contract and that he should access the vaccines directly from Russia which already had a state-owned company that deals directly with foreign countries that need the Sputnik V vaccine. 

The AG in a letter dated April 12, 2021, clearly warned the Health Minister not to sign the contract with the Dubai Sheikh because some clauses in the contract were biased and skewed against the government of Ghana.

The AG also warned that some of the provisions in the contract are also in breach of the Food and Drugs Authority’s regulations.

Referring to some of the clauses in the Agreement, Godfred Dame wrote: “We further note that the clause is ambiguous, vague and skewed against the buyer. It is thus suggested that the agreement be amended to classify what the parties mean by “outside reasonable control” and the same provided for the buyer.”

Also, the AG prompted Agyeman-Manu to source the vaccine directly from Russia because Russia is already supplying foreign countries directly and thus Ghana did not need a nuisance middleman.

“We also note that the vaccines are produced or manufactured from Russia and other countries are procuring directly from the manufacturers. But Ghana has elected to procure it through a third party who is not an agent of the manufacturer, as such, making him not liable to Ghana and Ghanaians in the likely event of adverse effect,” the AG admonished the Health Minister.

“We suggest that the republic of Ghana buys directly from the manufacturers instead of procuring through an individual in Dubai.”

However, the recalcitrant Health Minister went ahead to sign the contract which generated international suspicion. For instance, it triggered a Norwegian Tabloid “VG” to publish a damning report about the characters behind the Ghanaian Sputnik V deal.

Apparently, the Chief Director at the Health Ministry, Kwabena Boadu Oku–Afari had written to the Attorney General’s Office on 10th March 2021, asking the AG to review the contract.

The first red flag noticed by AG Godfred Dame was that the Ministry was only looking for a rubber stamp from the AG’s department because the contract had already been signed with the office of Sheikh Al Maktoum.

Again, the AG realised that the agreement was an international one and must go to Parliament for approval.

When the conspiracy was exposed, the Dubai Sheikh quickly cancelled the contract, raising even more suspicion where critics noted that it would not have been cancelled if the media had not blown the lid off the fraud.

When grilled a week ago during the parliamentary probe Mr. Agyeman-Manu admitted he procured the vaccines on the blind side of the Ghanaian Parliament. He justified the clandestine arrangement of the contract by claiming he was frustrated and not “thinking properly”.

Afterwards, a stuttering Agyeman Manu will be caught flatfooted, saying: “I had plans to come to seek approval from the House after I have signed the contract. But [due to] my frustrations to try to get vaccines for us at the heat of the second wave, I relied on the Executive Instrument 61 passed by Parliament and hid behind emergency clauses that have been invoked to do that and come to Parliament and inform the House that this is what I had done and, therefore, I need regularisation and need the approval to provide it.”

However, his explanation would still not answer the serious questions about the trail of cover-up attempts. For instance, even though Ghana had direct access to the vaccines from Russia through strong diplomatic ties, the Ministry first contacted the middleman before getting in touch with the Russians for the vaccine.

Investigations by Whatsup News revealed that on March 9, 2021, the health ministry had signed the agreement with Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktuom and then wrote to the AG for his advice the following day, March 10, 2021.

The Ministry claimed it had to take that route because of the urgency of the COVID-19 situation, however, they conveniently refused to disclose that the Sputnik V vaccine is traded directly by the Russian National Investment Fund (RDIF) through its subsidiary company called Human Vaccine LLC which had sold the vaccines to several other countries at US$10 per dose.  

Whatsup News can report that the Russian company, Human Vaccine LLC had sold the same type of vaccine to countries like Slovakia and Hungary at US$ 10 per dose, reinforcing suspicions about the underhand dealings that had transpired in the trade with Ghana, and that some faceless individuals stood to personally benefit from the deal.