Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon
June 18 ,2021
Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon has written to Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony seeking full disclosure on the acquisition of Sputnik-V vaccine from Sheik Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum.
In the National Assembly last Monday, the Health Minister, while being grilled for approximately two hours, disclosed that the Sputnik-V vaccines procured for Guyana for use in its fight against the COVID 19 pandemic, were not procured directly from the Government of Russia, but through a middleman whom he identified as the Sheik Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum.
As such, the Opposition Leader is seeking critical information on the quantities and batch numbers of the vaccines purchased from Sheik Al Maktoum and/or Umar Zahoor and their partners; shipping information including transshipment information and the conditions under which vaccines were stored for shipment; and details on the procurement process utilised including the due diligence done on the supplier.
“You would agree that it is important that Guyanese be assured that their health and safety are not being jeopardised and to this end, transparency and public disclosure of the details surrounding the procurement of the Sputnik-V vaccine are important,” Harmon told Dr. Anthony in a letter.