Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has slammed Finance Minister Ken Ofori Ata for the botched Sputnik V deal signed by Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu.
Martin Amidu objects to Mr Ofori Atta’s stance on the findings of the investigating parliamentary committee that found wrongdoing by the Health Minister in the transaction.
Mr Ofori Atta sympathized with Mr Agyeman Manu in a radio broadcast after the latter was chastised over the transaction.
“Even before Parliament could receive and deliberate on the ad hoc bipartisan committee’s report, the de facto co-President who is also Ghana’s Minister of Finance announced, what from my experience constituted the Government’s de jure position on the matter, suspected criminality notwithstanding,” Mr Amidu said in a statement released on Monday, August 16.
“In an interview on Wednesday, 4th August 2021 on Asaase Radio, his family’s radio station, the Minister of Finance called on We the People, whom the Government regards as rabble, to empathize with the Minister of Health for violating the Public Procurement Act and Article 181(5) of the 1992 Constitution in the unlawful contract executed for the procurement of the Sputnik V Covid 19 vaccines.
“But it is this same de facto co-President and Minister of Finance who takes responsibility for the order for the payment upon the unconstitutional and illegal Sputnik V Covid-19 procurement contract for this international business or economic transaction without Parliamentary approval. Paradoxically, this was the same co-President and Minister of Finance who had himself gotten away with the aborted parliamentary approved Agyapa Transaction upon the exercise of executive veto by his co and de jure President that resulted in the resignation of the Special Prosecutor in November 2020.
In a previous interview with a Norwegian journalist in June 2021, the de facto co-President and Minister of Finance’s wording in answer to the Norwegian journalist’s interrogation was couched in terms of “the royal we,” implying he was speaking on behalf of the Akufo-Addo Government. A portion of the interview has been reposted in audio form on JoyNews and AdomNews with the title “Sputnik contract: Norwegian investigative journalist’s interview with Ken Ofori-Atta.” The reader may want to confirm the facts and authoritative statements made by the co-President and Minister of Finance on behalf of the Ministry of Health, the Minister of Finance, and the Government as a whole. Any logical and patriotic Ghanaian who could not fairly anticipate the President’s stance on this issue following the co-President and Minister of Finance’s statements in the two interviews has not analytically studied this Government’s policy and decision-making history.”
The committee that investigated the Sputnik V vaccine contract recommended in its final report that the Ministry of Finance take steps to recover the money owed to the Republic in the amount of US$2,850,000.00 (Cedi equivalent of GH16,331,640.00), which was the cost of the Sputnik-V vaccines proposed to be procured, a recommendation that has been followed.
According to the Committee, the Ministry of Health did not get permission from the Board of Public Procurement Authority (PPA) under Sections 40 and 41 of Act 663 before signing the Agreements.
The Ministry, on the other hand, sought ratification under Section 90(3)(c) of the Act. Which has yet to be given.
The Committee also discovered that PPA’s probe into the issue has not been completed.
The Committee discovered that the Ministry interacted with His Highness Al Maktoum’s Private Office and S. L. Global. The Aurugulf Health Investment (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) designated the two companies as Agents and Distributors of the Sputnik-V COVID-19 Vaccines in Ghana. The vaccine was clearly purchased and distributed via the use of intermediaries.
The Committee determined that US$19.00 was the agreed-upon price of the vaccine under the Ministry’s agreement with Al Maktoum, and US$18.50 was the agreed-upon price under the Ministry’s agreement with Al Maktoum.
S. L. Global agreement, which was initially $26 per dosage.
The Committee determined that the Sputnik-V Vaccine’s ex-factory price was US$10.00.
The Minister stated that the rates reached under the two Agreements covered the costs of paperwork, shipping, packing, logistics, and expenditures related to the vaccine’s transit from its origin to Ghana.
The Committee determined that the Ministry entered into the two Agreements without cabinet approval and solely on the basis of a Ministerial decision based on the recommendation of the COVID-19 Emergency Operating Committee.
The Committee discovered that US$2,850,000.00 (representing 50% of the contract sum of US$5,700,000.00) was paid to Messrs Al Maktoum, which translates into the Cedi equivalent of GH16,331,640.00 when converted at the then-prevailing exchange rate of US$1 to GH5.73, despite the minister’s denial under oath.
Based on the above observations, the Committee makes the following recommendations:
Concerns Regarding Article 181(5) of the Constitution
The Committee is of the opinion that even if the situation in the country at the time the Agreement was signed, was that of an emergency, due process of law should have been followed because Parliament would have treated the issue with the urgency it deserved and the appropriate action would have been taken accordingly. The Agreement would have been taken under certificate of urgency in accordance with the
The point must also be made that, even if it was an emergency, the Minister should have found time to communicate effectively and engage with the Committee on Health.
The extensive engagement would have saved the Ministry from the negative reactions from the citizenry and some Members of Parliament.
As a result, the Committee advises that any such transaction, whether local or international, be submitted to wider stakeholder discussions in the future, and that it be subjected to due process of law, including Parliamentary approval. Other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) should take a cue from the recommendation, not only in the case of Agreements but also on issues relating to policies and programmes to be implemented.
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