Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram Samuel Nartey George, aka Sam George wants Kwaku Agyeman Manu, Ghana’s Health Minister to leave office.
According to him, the minister has failed in properly administering the health ministry.
Recounting on some health projects being undertaken in his constituency on a national TV, “I am hoping that it will not end up like the La General Hospital where sod was cut and two years on nothing. Contractor is on site, I have seen that they are doing land clearing. The Health Minister, if he survives the vote of censure or whoever succeeds him, should bear in mind that I am going to be on their neck.”
“We are not being too hard, we are just using the law. The health minister says he stopped thinking. If he stops thinking , in his own words he said he is not thinking. There is a reason the brain is in your head, it is to think and so if you are a minister and you are nothing you shouldn’t be the minister. Parliament and governance is not a church forgiveness is for God.” Sam George stated when he was being questioned on why the minority in parliament is being hard on majority.
Background
All 137 members of the Minority in Parliament have signed a motion for vote of censure in the Minister of Health who is also the Member of Parliament for Dormaa Central Constituency.
The motion was submitted on Wednesday, February 16 via a memorandum to the Speaker of Parliament.
According to the motion, Mr Agyemang-Manu undertook a business transaction as Ghana’s Minister of Health without prior approval of Parliament contrary to Article 81 of the 1992 Constitution.
He has also been accused of signing a procurement agreement without prior approval of the Board of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA).
The minority also accuses the Health Minister of dishonesty, telling the Committee of Health that he procured the Sputnik-V vaccines at an ex-factory price of $10 per dose when they were really procured at $19 and $18.5 per dose.
The Health Minister is also accused of fibbing and misrepresenting under oath, having made a $2.85 million initial payment to the private office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum when he told an ad hoc committee that no payment had been made.
The Minority accuses him of perjury.
“The above conduct, being in direct breach of the Constitution and laws passed by this Honourable House, the Minister of Health be removed from office as Minister by a vote of Censure passed in accordance with article 82 of the Constitution.”
When he appeared before the nine-member bi-partisan committee on the procurement of the Sputnik-V vaccines, Mr Agyemang-Manu said he was not himself when he took the decision because the country was in dire straits due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
