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Coronavirus update in Ghana: Why Ghana govment buy unit cost of Sputnik V vaccine for $19 instead $10 global factory price

June 10 ,2021

BBC.COM

Ministry of Health for Ghana justify reasons why dem decide to buy Russian Sputnik V vaccine for $19 instead of $10 wey be factory price.

Dem come forward explain de reason after reports emerge from Norwegian newspaper, VG say Ghana go buy vaccines from one Sheik den another Norwegian who allegedly dey on wanted list of Police for money laundering.

But Ministry of Health say dema reason for buying de vaccine at $19 be sake of dem enter de market after attempts to secure products directly from Russia govment fail.

"Sake of no response from direct channels den global shortage of de vaccine, MoH, on 9th March, 2021 respond to one offer from office of Sheik Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum of United Arab Emirates for supply of 3.4 million doses of Sputnik V vaccines at unit cost of $19," Kwabena Boadu-Afari, Chief Director for Ministry of Health explain inside statement wey dem release.

Ghana order for 300,000 doses but Ministry of Health say dem no receive am yet, conditions dey for Ghana to opt out if dem no meet supply conditions.

So far Ghana vaccinate some 1,230,000 people out of which 376,000 get de full Covid-19 dosage representing 1.2% of de total population who receive full vaccine.

Although dis go cost govment $5.7 million, Ghanaian authorities say dem rather negotiate de unit price go down from proposed $25 to $19.

Dem explain say land transport, shipment, insurance, handling den special storage charges be reason for de price de supplier quote.

All dis deal happen at de time where Covid-19 shortage hit de world, despite dis global shortage dem still dey work to secure nore vaccines for Ghanaians.

Ghana so far don record some 93,362 COVID-19 cases out of which 787 die of de disease, meanwhile recoveries dey stand 92,362 across de country.

Django

Sputnik For Sale

VG has documented how intermediaries have obtained the Sputnik vaccine and are re-selling it at a premium.

Through investigations in countries including Ghana, Russia, Pakistan, Guyana and Iraq, VG has been able to document how the Russian vaccines have travelled via a sheik in the Emirates and round the world.

Among those involved are at least one individual with a long and troubled past with the law in Norway.

Read more

Django
Last edited by Django

APNU Guyana


June 15,  2021

Norwegian newspaper investigation links PPP procurement of COVID-19 vaccines to convicted fraudster - clear corruption involving BILLIONS of taxpayer monies
Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony was forced to disclose in the National Assembly yesterday, Monday June 14th, 2021, that the PPP administration had procured 200,000 doses of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines at a cost of $957,000,000 from one Sheik Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates. This sum was not budgeted for neither did it receive the prior approval of the National Assembly.
Minister Anthony further disclosed that the PPP regime intended to procure an additional 58,000 Sputnik V vaccines from Sheik Al Maktoum for an additional $275,964,000.
This amounts to $1,232,964,000 in Sputnik V vaccines being procured from Sheik Al Maktoum in two orders.
In November, 2020 Sheik Al Maktoum, accompanied by Umar Farooq Zahoor visited Guyana on a private jet as a guest of the state and hosted by President Irfaan Ali.
The Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang (VG), in a recent global investigative report has revealed that Mr. Zahoor, a Pakistani national who grew up in Norway, is a wanted in that country as part of an investigation into a massive fraud and that he is being sheltered and protected by the United Arab Emirates and his close associate Sheik Al Maktoum.
Even more disturbingly, the Verdens Gang report reveals that Sheik Al Maktoum has procured the Sputnik V vaccines via a Norwegian man by the name of Per Morten Hansen who is indicted in Norway for money laundering and evading customs duties.
When asked whether the Sputnik V vaccines bought by Guyana were procured via Per Morten Hansen, Dr. Anthony stated that he “don’t know who is dat”.
However the investigation by the Verdens Gang newspaper reveals, and provides supporting evidence, that Sheik Al Maktoum and Hansen are associates and work in tandem.
The Verdens Gang investigative report states:
“VG has documented how intermediaries have obtained the Sputnik vaccine and are re-selling it at a premium.
Through investigations in countries including Ghana, Russia, Pakistan, Guyana and Iraq, VG has been able to document how the Russian vaccines have travelled via a sheik in the Emirates and round the world.
Among those involved are at least one individual with a long and troubled past with the law in Norway.”
The Verdens Gang report identifies this ‘one individual’, the middleman who supplies Sputnik V vaccines from the Russians to Sheik Al Maktoum as Per Morten Hansen.
When questioned by the Leader of the Opposition Hon. Joseph Harmon about the procurement method for the purchase of the vaccines, Minister Anthony disclosed that it was done via “direct sourcing”.
Minister Anthony sheepishly claimed that the PPP government approached the Russian Sovereign Fund and was advised that it could not provide vaccines but directed them to Al Maktoum.
It is evident that the PPP did not exercise due diligence in its attempt to purchase vaccines and their executive recklessness now exposes a number of issues.
These include:
1. The installed PPP knowingly participate in an international vaccine racket.
2. The PPP knowingly engaged in price-gouging transaction - which it had to have known was exploitative, overpaying over $600MILLION of Guyanese taxpayers money for the Sputnik V vaccines.
3. The PPP was eager to engage with Sheik Al Maktoum and his dubious associates to close deals and hand over billions of dollars of Guyanese taxpayers monies.
4. The PPP is guilty of being involved in a corrupt transaction that was deliberately sewn together to defraud the state and benefit a few people.
5. This level of industrial scale corruption by the installed PPP regime has been disclosed at a time when Guyanese are suffering from a COVID-19 pandemic, the worst flood disaster in our history, high and rising cost of living, low wages and salaries paid to public servants and blatant discrimination by the installed PPP regime in the manner it manages the affairs of the state.
A full explanation of the vaccine racket is demanded of President Irfaan Ali by the Guyanese people.
-END-
Django
Last edited by Django
@cain posted:

Under the carpet, this goes.

When questioned by the Leader of the Opposition Hon. Joseph Harmon about the procurement method for the purchase of the vaccines, Minister Anthony disclosed that it was done via “direct sourcing”.
Minister Anthony sheepishly claimed that the PPP government approached the Russian Sovereign Fund and was advised that it could not provide vaccines but directed them to Al Maktoum.
It is evident that the PPP did not exercise due diligence in its attempt to purchase vaccines and their executive recklessness now exposes a number of issues.
These include:
1. The installed PPP knowingly participate in an international vaccine racket.
2. The PPP knowingly engaged in price-gouging transaction - which it had to have known was exploitative, overpaying over $600MILLION of Guyanese taxpayers money for the Sputnik V vaccines.
3. The PPP was eager to engage with Sheik Al Maktoum and his dubious associates to close deals and hand over billions of dollars of Guyanese taxpayers monies.
4. The PPP is guilty of being involved in a corrupt transaction that was deliberately sewn together to defraud the state and benefit a few people.
5. This level of industrial scale corruption by the installed PPP regime has been disclosed at a time when Guyanese are suffering from a COVID-19 pandemic, the worst flood disaster in our history, high and rising cost of living, low wages and salaries paid to public servants and blatant discrimination by the installed PPP regime in the manner it manages the affairs of the state.
A full explanation of the vaccine racket is demanded of President Irfaan Ali by the Guyanese people.
Mitwah
@Mitwah posted:
When questioned by the Leader of the Opposition Hon. Joseph Harmon about the procurement method for the purchase of the vaccines, Minister Anthony disclosed that it was done via “direct sourcing”.
Minister Anthony sheepishly claimed that the PPP government approached the Russian Sovereign Fund and was advised that it could not provide vaccines but directed them to Al Maktoum.
It is evident that the PPP did not exercise due diligence in its attempt to purchase vaccines and their executive recklessness now exposes a number of issues.
These include:
1. The installed PPP knowingly participate in an international vaccine racket.
2. The PPP knowingly engaged in price-gouging transaction - which it had to have known was exploitative, overpaying over $600MILLION of Guyanese taxpayers money for the Sputnik V vaccines.
3. The PPP was eager to engage with Sheik Al Maktoum and his dubious associates to close deals and hand over billions of dollars of Guyanese taxpayers monies.
4. The PPP is guilty of being involved in a corrupt transaction that was deliberately sewn together to defraud the state and benefit a few people.
5. This level of industrial scale corruption by the installed PPP regime has been disclosed at a time when Guyanese are suffering from a COVID-19 pandemic, the worst flood disaster in our history, high and rising cost of living, low wages and salaries paid to public servants and blatant discrimination by the installed PPP regime in the manner it manages the affairs of the state.
A full explanation of the vaccine racket is demanded of President Irfaan Ali by the Guyanese people.

The transaction is a major issue if members of the Guyanese government or any of its citizens through political patronage profited from the transaction. Additional major issues would be if the vaccines were stolen, fake or compromised in anyway, for instance the cold chain was not maintained, etc.

However the arguments related to participating in a price-gouging transaction are ridiculous. The arguments assume that the market for COVID vaccines is efficient. They are clearly not. WHO does not set market price for the vaccines. The rich countries who were willing to fund billions of dollars of upfront payment without knowing if the vaccines would work and commit to large volume purchases are at the front of the line. Guyana is at the back of the line along with the other poor smaller countries. So the government can wait for their allocation from COVAX or other international programs. Or the government can try to jump the line. The government has the responsibility to look out for its people so I have no issues with them paying to jump the line. Every other country in the world is taking care of their people first. People who can afford it are flying to other countries to get their vaccines. This is not an efficient market. So whether the price is $10, $19 or $50, who knows. But of all the current issues the country is facing as highlighted by the opposition (COVID-19 pandemic, the worst flood disaster in our history, high and rising cost of living, low wages and salaries paid to public servants and blatant discrimination by the installed PPP regime in the manner it manages the affairs of the state) COVID-19 is the highest priority, has a known solution and can be done relatively soon but at a price.

Where the opposition should be focused is determining if the proper due diligence was completed by the government to ensure the integrity of the vaccines. They should also focus on whether any members of the government or its supporters profited illegally from the transaction.

L

EU approval of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine delayed, sources say

Reuters.com

BERLIN, June 16 (Reuters) - European Union approval of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine will be delayed because a June 10 deadline to submit data was missed, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, diminishing the shot's prospects in the EU's pandemic response.

One of the sources, a German government official, said the failure to provide the necessary clinical trial data to the EU medicines watchdog would postpone any go-ahead in the bloc until at least September.

"Approval of Sputnik will be delayed probably until September, maybe until the end of the year," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had previously been expected to conclude its review of the Russian vaccine and issue a decision in May or June.

A second source said the June 10 cut-off date not been met and that the vaccine's developer, Russia's Gamaleya Institute, said it will file the requested data next week or at the latest at the end of the month.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets the vaccine, said the EMA review was on track.

"All of the information on the Sputnik V vaccine clinical trials has been provided and GCP (General Clinical Practice) review has been completed with positive feedback from the European Medicines Agency," the RDIF said.

"While it is up to EMA to decide on the timing of the approval procedure, the Sputnik V team expects the vaccine approval with the next two months," it added. EMA was not immediately available for comment.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has held talks to buy Sputnik V but has made any purchase contingent on EMA approval. read more

Frustrated by a sluggish immunisation campaign, some regional German states including Bavaria earlier this year flagged interest in placing orders for Sputnik V, but vaccination has since picked up speed.

Slovakia became the EU's second country after Hungary to start inoculating people with Sputnik V this month, despite lack of EU approval. read more

Reporting Andrease Rinke in Berlin, Emilio Parodi in Milan; Additional reporting by Polina Ivanova in Moscow Writing by Ludwig Burger and Joseph Nasr; Editing by Hans Seidenstuecker, Mark Heinrich and Giles Elgood
Django

Ok Django. We know. No one can match the technological prowess of the Americans, not yet! The Chinese vaccine is about 50 to 60% effective. There are mixed reviews of the Russian vaccine. The JJ (from the great USofA) has trouble. AstraZeneca is not bad but has more side effects. Dem India man like exaggerate and talk fat, dem never made an indigenous vaccine. They imported the formula and made it in India. It is essentially the AstraZeneca jab. You know Indos like to beat dem chess and talk about how dem ancestor was flying planes and suh? Well, that's what happened with the Indo vaccine.

The two best vaccines are the American's. They said Merika fuss! Thanks to Trump. Now, they are starting to do something by selling and donating the Pfizer and Moderna jabs, which are the two mRNA vaccines ...now that dem Trump people seh they are not tekking vaccines. Perhaps dem Trumpsters will start tekkin cow piss too like some of dem BJP politicians...since they are all right-wing nutters.

However, why are you trying to blame the PPP for everything? At least they tried. They bought a lot of vaccines, better than anyone else in the Caribbean. Should they have throwed back, kicked out dem feet and do nothing? Pull a Granger? Juss throw back allow he mattie foh tief and discriminate against Indos?

FM
Last edited by Former Member

Any way you twist it or turn it if the PPP government paid $23 for something that could be bought for $10 then someone is profiting.  Is it coincidental that the man from whom they bought the vaccines is the sheik  who went to Guyana recently.  What kind of low life lout profits from the misery of poor people.  The answer is the Pradoville crooks and their friends.  Doesn't the PPP have fraternal relations with Russia?  Cuba? China?

T
@Former Member posted:

However, why are you trying to blame the PPP for everything? At least they tried. They bought a lot of vaccines, better than anyone else in the Caribbean. Should they have throwed back, kicked out dem feet and do nothing? Pull a Granger? Juss throw back allow he mattie foh tief and discriminate against Indos?

Take a look what PM Rowley of Trinidad said. Well it appears you agree with the high purchase price for vaccines which is not approved by WHO, no one knows if they are genuine .

Regarding thieves and discrimination ,which side have more expertise ?

The issue is not throwing back ,the PPP have poorly managed Covid-19 ,the man with the ring Jagdeo concerned about the economy and his business friends bank book,he said people will have to die. They are dying look at the numbers ,perhaps more will met their demise ,the vaccines acquired aren't proven the be highly effective ,sad situation.

Django
Last edited by Django
@Totaram posted:

Any way you twist it or turn it if the PPP government paid $23 for something that could be bought for $10 then someone is profiting.  Is it coincidental that the man from whom they bought the vaccines is the sheik  who went to Guyana recently.  What kind of low life lout profits from the misery of poor people. The answer is the Pradoville crooks and their friends.  Doesn't the PPP have fraternal relations with Russia?  Cuba? China?

Sure you can moralize about a rich person taking advantage of the poor during a pandemic. However save some of your wrath for the vaccine manufacturers who are making billions in profits from the vaccines and who are also refusing to share their patents which would accelerate the access to low cost vaccines for much of the world. Some of you may even have some of these companies in your 401(k). Please don't reserve all of the venom for the "Pradoville crooks".

In the end, you can choose to see the world the way it is vs. the way it should be and act accordingly.

L
@Django posted:

Take a look what PM Rowley of Trinidad said. Well it appears you agree with the high purchase price for vaccines which is not approved by WHO, no one knows if they are genuine .

Regarding thieves and discrimination ,which side have more expertise ?

The issue is not throwing back ,the PPP have poorly managed Covid-19 ,the man with the ring Jagdeo concerned about the economy and his business friends bank book,he said people will have to die. They are dying look at the numbers ,perhaps more will met their demise ,the vaccines acquired aren't proven the be highly effective ,sad situation.

Rowley has a career politician as minister of health. Why should I take him seriously? Aluh know how Kapa scorn most politicians...I just don't feel a career politician should be MOH, MOF, Foreign Affairs...

FM
@Locutus posted:

Sure you can moralize about a rich person taking advantage of the poor during a pandemic. However save some of your wrath for the vaccine manufacturers who are making billions in profits from the vaccines and who are also refusing to share their patents which would accelerate the access to low cost vaccines for much of the world. Some of you may even have some of these companies in your 401(k). Please don't reserve all of the venom for the "Pradoville crooks".

In the end, you can choose to see the world the way it is vs. the way it should be and act accordingly.

If I were to give you a written recipe and ask you to cook it, could you do it if you didn't know how to cook, nor had utensils, pots and pans?

The issue is not so much the patents as it is the production process. There aren't a lot of folks who know how to produce mRNA type vaccines. Furthermore, production sites need to be validated, sources of raw materials determined etc. Making a vaccine is not like a bush cook on the backdam.

Moderna will not prosecute for patent infringement. Yet no company has tried to make the vaccines. Why? The very issues above.

So rewind and come again when your mind exits utopia. And before you do, check your investments. What are you invested in? Bush Rum? Exotic labba? Or Florida real estate?

FM

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