Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ayokor Botchway has jumped to government’s defense over its decision to use middlemen in the procurement of Sputnik-V vaccines.
Speaking at a Press conference on Monday June 14, she stated emphatically that its been very tough getting the vaccines directly from manufacturers.
“It has not been easy at all. Not just for Ghana, but for any of our country and not just for Africa but also for other countries around the world.
“Whether we were involved. Yes we were involved and I can assure you that it is difficult to procure vaccines directly from manufacturers,” she said.
“It is difficult, extremely so even if you have money to procure vaccines from the source. It is almost impossible and so we made contact and we still continue to pursue getting the vaccines. It has not been easy.
“Whether we were involved? Yes from the beginning we were involved but I can assure you that it is difficult to procure vaccines directly from manufacturers but whatever decision government takes, the responsibility is all of us. It is a collective responsibility and it is a collective decision that was taken. Government will only take that decision if all avenues are closed to it,” she added.
Meanwhile a Private Legal Practitioner, Martin Kpebu has called on the President, Nana Akufo-Addo to fire the Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu for failing in that regard.
This comes after a Norwegian news tabloid reported that Ghana has 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 $10 per dose on the international market.