A Fellow of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has called on government to opt out of the deal it has with Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum and his cohorts, for the procurement of Sputnik V vaccines.

Dr Kwame Sarpong Asiedu said following the failure of the middlemen to meet the July deadline for delivery of the vaccine doses, “there are enough breaches of that contract for the government to opt out.”

This comes after the failure of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, the middleman in government’s procurement of Sputnik V vaccines, to meet three of four deadlines to deliver the vaccines.

He told Samson Lardy Anyenini on Joy News’ Newsfile, Saturday that, “And I think there are enough grounds for the government to opt-out.

“Even if they deliver in July and the supply comes in August, there wouldn’t be value for money at the cost they are selling to us. So I think the government has to abrogate the contract.”

According to the Ministry of Health, government will abrogate the contract, should the Sheikh fail to meet the next deadline in July, 2021 to deliver 1,500 doses to the country.

“At the cost they are selling to us, there wouldn’t be value for money. I think the government has to abrogate the contract,” he said.

Dr Kwame Asiedu maintained that Ghana’s best bet is to rely on existing supply chain as advised by the World Health Organisation.

“The truth of the matter is that we can only rely on the vaccine supply chain. We cannot do a lot because we are bystanders.

“Sometimes, people do not want to hear that we are bystanders, but if you are not at the table of men, with their hands in the food, you do not get to eat at the same time with the men who prepared the food.

“This is the situation we find ourselves in. I don’t think this virus is going away any time soon. There will be clinical trials and other vaccine development,” he said.