The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has admitted a motion from the Minority side for the constitution of a bi-partisan committee to investigate the government’s contract for the procurement of Sputnik-V vaccines by the Health Ministry.

Earlier in June, the Minority tabled an urgent motion calling on the House to probe the transaction, which indicates that the government agreed to purchase a dose of the vaccine at $19 per unit instead of $10 per dose through a middleman.

“We have filed an urgent motion into Ghana’s procurement of every Sputnik-V vaccine. This motion that I emphasise, we are going to call for a bipartisan probe because we feel that Parliament is not even aware of this transaction,” the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu.

“We would want to understand the procurement processes that were used, but more importantly, to demand value for money for the Ghanaian taxpayer that we’re not just seeking to profit from COVID-19 with this questionable transaction.”

A notice from Parliament stated that the motion for a bi-partisan committee to probe the “contracts between the Republic and Sheik Ahmed Al Makhtoum and one other, for the supply of Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccines” had been admitted by the Speaker.

“The motion is sponsored by Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu; Juabeso MP, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh; Dafiama-Bussie-Issa MP, Dr Sebastien Sandaare; North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa; Nabdam MP, Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaane; and Ashaiman MP, Ernest Norgbey.”

“The Speaker is expected to give further directives on the motion.”

Ghana took delivery of 650,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility in addition to 50,000 AstraZeneca vaccines from the Indian government, and 165,000 from MTN for its mass vaccination program.

The country has since been struggling to get more vaccines to reach its target of immunising 20 million people.

It later emerged that the government is using the services of middlemen to procure some of Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccines but at a higher cost of US$ 19 other than the original factory price of US$ 10.

This move has not gone done well with some stakeholders, including the Minority in Parliament which is calling for the abrogation of the procurement contract.