5 Greatest Lies of Ghana’s Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu

Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu

Health Minister Mr. Agyeman Manu has come under serious pressure from the public to vacate his post after it emerged that he lied under oath when he appeared before a Parliamentary Committee investigating a botched deal to procure Sputnik V vaccines through middlemen that resulted in causing the nation some 1 million US dollars.

While Mr. Agyeman Manu’s deceitful nature does not come as a surprise to me, I am encouraged by the outrage the people are showing towards him for being dishonest. Perhaps if we had always maintained this momentum, Dr. Bawumia who holds the unenviable title as Ghana’s Greatest Liar will not be our Vice President.

This article seeks to compile some of Mr. Agyeman Manu’s greatest Lies.

Lie 2. Mr. Agyeman Manu contracted Covid-19 in June 2020 after attending a party when the President had announced a ban on public gatherings, including parties and weddings. Embarrassed to face the fact, Agyeman Manu instead of admitting he had contracted the virus told Ghanaians that he was at the University of Ghana Medical Center (UGMC) to rest.

Lie 2. Talking of UGMC, in the early years of the Akufo-Addo government when there was a public outcry on the government to operationalize the UGMC which remained under lock and keys several months after completion, Mr. Kwaku Agyeman Manu held a press conference to announce to the public that the hospital was not fit for purpose, the reason for which it was not operationalised. Among other things, Mr. Agyeman Manu claimed that the over 1000 bed facility did not a standby generator for which reason the facility cannot run MRI and other operations that require the use of a standby/backup power supply. Later on, checks by Joy News revealed the facility had 2 functional standby/backup generators installed.

Lie 3. At his vetting, Agyeman Manu said work had commenced on the construction of the La General Hospital. To date, there is no single contractor on-site and no work has commenced since President Akufo-Addo cut sod for the commencement of work in August 2020.

Lie 4. Again at his vetting, Mr. Agyeman Manu lied to the committee that at the time he attended the birthday party in which he contracted the Covid-19 virus, the President had announced a restriction on the number of people who can attend weddings and parties. He further stated that the people present at the party were less than 10. While it is a lie that the numbers were less than ten as images from the party circulating on social media revealed at least 11 people at the gathering, Mr. Agyeman Manu lied when he said there was a restriction on numbers in place. At the time he attended the party, there was a ban and he flouted that ban.

For a Minister of Health to flout a ban put in place to ensure public safety and remain at post speaks volumes of the seriousness of the President and his government.

Lie 5. Perhaps this is the greatest lie of all the lies Agyeman Manu has ever told judging by the public bashing he is receiving today with calls on him to either resign or be sacked. It emerged earlier in June through publications from a Norwegian newspaper that the government was using the services of middlemen to procure 3.4 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccines at a higher cost of $19 other than the original factory price of $10. The Ministry and government denied the story in the beginning but as more details began to reach the public, they admitted to entering such a deal with some Dubai Sheikhs but insisted no payment whatsoever was made.

Unconvinced by the posture of the government, the Ranking Member on the Health Committee in Parliament Mr. Kwamena MIntah Akandor got the Speaker of Parliament to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the transaction. Speaking under oath at the committee sitting, Mr. Agyeman Manu said no payment has been made to the middlemen in the contract for the purchase of the Sputnik-V vaccines. The committee found out later that Mr. Agyeman Manu lied once again as payments were made to the tune of 2.85 million US dollars with no regard to Ghana’s procurement laws.

Obviously, Mr. Agyeman Manu has proven beyond reasonable doubt to be a chronic liar. Why he continues to be Ghana’s Health Minister is telling of the decency and integrity of the government he serves in.