A leading member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini has expressed disappointment in the government’s failure to secure Astra Zeneca vaccines which is easy to procure, and instead opted for Sputnik V through a third party in its bid to fight the spread of novel coronavirus 2019.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North Constituency said he was not impressed with the Akufo-Addo government’s management of the pandemic.
“I know that the professionals that are in the sector are committed to getting a breakthrough and also putting Ghana’s name out there but for lack of resources, they are committed to doing their job. The nurses and doctors are committed to putting Ghana’s best foot forward in this fight against Covid,” he said on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Tuesday, July 6.
According to Suhuyini, the government failed to take the right steps and prioritize the interest of Ghanaians in outsourcing third parties to acquire Covid vaccines for the nation.
“Clearly,” he said, “the interaction that has just gone on, on the sputnik procurement shows that the arrangement was not tidy and the best interest of the state was not what guided some of the decisions that were made.”
Alhassan Suhuyini wondered who the government would blame for its inability to procure the vaccines to control the virus.
“It’s the rationale behind some of the dubious arrangements with regards to procuring sputnik is because we couldn’t wait until the end of June to get Astra Zeneca which was tidier and perhaps more straightforward,” he said.
He explained that the government did not display aptitude in going about the procurement process indicating “If we don’t have the vaccines how did that come about if not for state inefficiency and inability to handle the situation. So let us admit that in the last two to three years, the handling has not been the best. The focus has been wrong.”
Suhuyini indicated that the government’s interest in going for the purchase was purely motivated by the spirit of nepotism and selfish interest.
“The focus has been motivated largely by procurement just for friends and family to enrich themselves unfortunately or grandstanding so we need to admit that to ourselves perhaps and begin to engage better and focus more on fighting the virus” he emphasized.
He said the government must be committed to developing the capacity to develop its scientific research cenrtes to be able to demonstrate a better approach to a season such as the pandemic.
By: Ernest Tetteh Kabu | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana
