The Emirati intermediary at the centre of a COVID-19 vaccine scandal in Ghana, Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, has apparently transferred the $2,470,000 outstanding debt from the botched vaccine purchase.
A letter cited by The Ghana Report and purportedly from the office of Sheikh Al Maktoum said the amount has been refunded to the Government of Ghana’s “designated bank account”.
The letter, dated Agust 11, addresses Kwabena Boadu Oku-Afari, the acting chief director of the Ministry of Health. Sheikh Al Maktoum also copied the Ministries of Health and Finance, the deputies of those ministries as well as the head of legal affairs at the Health Ministry.
“The SWIFT and the payment advice for the refund is hereby attached for your reference and record…Kindly issue us a payment receipt once the funds have been credited into the Government bank account,” the letter says.
Background
It emerged that Ghana paid a little more than $2.8 million to Sheikh Al Maktoum for the procurement of the Sputnik V vaccine doses, contrary to an earlier claim by the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, that the state has not expended any money towards the procurement of the vaccine.
A nine-member ad-hoc parliamentary committee set up to probe the controversial Sputnik V vaccine procurement deal in their final report indicated that $2,850,000 representing 50% of the $5,700,000 owed to Sheikh Al Maktoum for the eventual supply of 300,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine was actually paid to him.
“According to the Bank of Ghana in its letter of 31st March 2021, out of the total amount of US$5,700,000.00 owed to Sheikh Al Maktoum, an amount of US$2,850,000.00 representing 50% has been paid to him and that translates into a Cedi equivalent of GH¢16,331,640.00 converted at the exchange rate of US$1 to GH¢5.73,” the report said.
The committee, therefore, tasked the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta to retrieve the money that has been paid.
The Ministry of Health promptly wrote to the Sheikh to return the money that was paid, minus the cost of 20,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine that the Sheikh’s outfit supplied Ghana.
Recommendations and public debate
Aside from taking steps to recover the money, the parliamentary report also recommended that in the future, any such transaction, be it local or international, should be subjected to broader stakeholder consultations and taken through due process of law, including parliamentary approval.
The controversy generated by the committee finding has prompted certain influential persons among the general public to express concern.
The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul-Malik Kweku Baako and private legal practitioner and sociopolitical commentator, Martin Kpebu, among others, have called for the resignation of the Minister of Health.
Defence of Agyeman-Manu
A number of bigwigs in government have thrown their support behind the Minister of Health who is being pressured by the members of the public and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to resign.
On Tuesday, August 10, the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, in a visit to the Bono Region, made a lighthearted reference to Agyeman-Manu’s pressures.
On Monday, August 9, Minister of Finance Ofori-Atta described the public discourse surrounding the Health Minister’s gaffes as conversations with “so little empathy”.
“[Agyeman-Manu] had no other choice with the way he acted… and the issue of if we will, we get our money back? We will. It will be my responsibility to get the money back, and I will,” Ofori-Atta explained in an interview.
