Members of Data and Advocacy Consult, a governance group, have asked Ghanaians to commend the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu for choosing the safety of Ghanaians over procedures with regard to matters relating to the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines without parliamentary approval.
Mr. Agyeman-Manu has been lambasted by a section of the public after he admitted that he did not seek parliamentary approval before signing the Sputnik V vaccine procurement contract with Sheikh Maktoum
“I was in a desperate and helpless situation with the management of the coved numbers. In February [this year], we had 78 deaths; by March, we had 56 deaths, and these were the numbers that pushed me to act,” the minister told the bi-partisan parliamentary committee probing the controversial Sputnik V vaccine procurement.
“If you were the Health Minister, I think you might have taken certain decisions that in hindsight you may not have done those things. The country was not in normal times,” the Minister added.
Addressing the media in Accra yesterday, Felix Asirifi, convener of the group, said the minister should rather be applauded for being honest and not condemned for placing premium on the safety of Ghanaians over procedures.
“Indeed, the minister has been honest, and emphasis must be placed on the word honest, in his submission to the committee in acknowledging that there were some issues as regards the procurement of the vaccine, would we rather as a country prefer that the minister shift the blame or found other means of hiding this, or we will rather prefer his honesty with the issues surrounding the purchase of the vaccine. Our answer to this question should reflect the kind of public servants we seek to train,” the statement said.
“We are, therefore, of the firm belief that the Minister chose the health and safety of Ghanaians over procedural measures.”
“We believe that the minister has been forthright with us as a country and has shown he is also human and could make mistakes. We are not by this statement in any way stating that public officials should be encouraged to hide behind any excuses to expend public funds without due diligence. However, we will support any public official who is honest in his duty to the mandate given him,” it added.
Below is the full statement:
Press statement
Presented by Data and Advocacy Consult
We members of Data and Advocacy Consult Ghana have invited you to present to you a very important national matter concerning the management of Covid -19.
It is acknowledged nationally that Hon. Kwaku Agyeman- Manu, the minister of health, and his team have succeeded in initiating well-thought-out strategic protocol measures to prevent further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic that bedevilled the nation.
As we speak, Ghana has been recognized as one of the countries that have been able to manage the pandemic to the extent that, the country has recorded fewer deaths (823), comparatively one of the lowest in the world.
We will like to acknowledge the effort of President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the appointment of the Hon. Health Minister. Indeed, he has proven to be the right person to have led the charge against this pandemic.
The Hon Minister has shown leadership which has benefited us immensely. Indeed, he was built for this challenge.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, We do also acknowledge as an organization, that there have been some issues regarding procurement of vaccines for the country, but on the balance can we say the government, or the ministry or the minister has been bad in managing the situation in its totality?
Can we conclude the Hon. Minister has been bad at his job? Are we measuring his performance by one isolated incident? Are we saying that his choice of saving lives rather than following the due process in the heat of the pandemic was a bad choice?
Indeed, the minister has been honest, and emphasis must be placed on the word honest, in his submission to the committee in acknowledging that there were some issues as regards the procurement of the vaccine, would we rather as a country prefer that the minister shift the blame or found other means of hiding this, or we will rather prefer his honesty with the issues surrounding the purchase of the vaccine.
Our answer to this question should reflect the kind of public servants we seek to train.
We are, therefore, of the firm belief that the Minister chose the health and safety of Ghanaians over procedural measures.
We believe that the minister has been forthright with us as a country and has shown he is also human and could make mistakes.
We are not by this statement in any way stating that public officials should be encouraged to hide behind any excuses to expend public funds without due diligence. However, we will support any public official who is honest in his duty to the mandate given him.
Data on Worldometer.com today attest to the fact that Ghana still stands as one of the countries with one of the lowest infection and death rates per population, and this feat was chalked with the immense contribution of the
Hon Minister for health. The history of COVID-19 will never be written without the mention of the leadership of H.E, the President, and the Hon Minister.
Even in the face of being infected and having been admitted to an ICU, the minister gave leadership by surviving the disease and giving hope to those that have been affected and also returning to the field to fight against the pandemic.
There can never be any testimonial written about his resilience in fighting the pandemic, except by the success we have chalked so far.
We thought at the time he contracted the diseases, that his wife and children would have advised that he stayed away from public life, but due to his love for the country, he came back strong to help champion the fight against the pandemic.
In conclusion, we want to appeal to parliament to use this report in framing laws to forestall such eventualities when we are in difficult times and the laid down rules regarding procurement could be bypassed.
We are also by this statement encouraging the Hon. Minister to be focused on the good job done so far because COVID is still within our borders. And to be encouraged by the number of lives he and his team have saved by the grace of God and a dint of hard work.
