The Sputnik V transaction did not receive legislative backing, it is illegal-Minority
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu has described the agreement as an international transaction which should have been ratified by Parliament
The Minority Leader in Parliament, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu has described the Sputnik V agreement as illegal because it lacks legislative backing.
He indicated that the Sputnik V vaccine can be described as an international transaction. Therefore, the agreement should have been ratified by Parliament.
“We state without fear of contradiction that even this transaction qualifies to be an international economic transaction within the meaning of Article 181(5) of the 1992 Constitution and therefore, failure to have parliamentary approval or better still ratification of it leaves it walking an illegal transaction per the laws of the land,” he noted.
Mr.Iddrisu further questioned why a middleman was used in the said transaction.
“We will be happy to see what the opinion of the Attorney General will be on this particular transaction but we are interested in the cost overrun and the unjustified, exorbitant payment of COVID vaccines using middlemen,” he added.
He made this statement on Thursday, June 24, when he spoke to the media in parliament.
Background
A Norwegian news tabloid, Verdens Gang, reported early this month that Ghana had requested to purchase 3.4 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine through two businessmen who are selling it to Ghana at $19 per dose instead of the $10 per dose on the international market.
This generated a public uproar, with the Minority in Parliament and others calling for the cancellation of the deal.
However, the government through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey explained that it could not secure the vaccines directly from the manufacturer, hence the need to go through some middlemen, and that explains why the cost is higher than the standard price of the Russian vaccine.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Health jumped to the Defence of Government’s decision in a statement released on June 9, 2021. It stated in part that Ghana only had the option of accepting the above-mentioned price or being denied the vaccines and sold to other countries.
