Kwaku Agyemang-Manu (born September 6, 1955) a Ghanaian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Dormaa Central and the Minister of Health. He is a Chartered Management Accountant and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Statistics from the University of Ghana in 1989.
Early life and education
Agyeman-Manu was born in Dormaa Ahenkro in the then Brong Ahafo Region now Bono Region. He had his G.C.E Ordinary Level in 1973 and his G.C.E Advanced Level in 1975. He is a Chartered Management Accountant and Associate Member in 1990. and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Statistics from the University of Ghana in 1979. He also graduated with Management Accountancy from the London School of Accountancy.
Career
He was the Director of finance at the Ghamot Company Limited and also at Toyota Ghana Company Limited. He was also the Deputy Chief Accountant at the MIM Timber Company Limited.
Political career
Agyeman-Manu is a member of the New Patriotic Party and the member of parliament for Dormaa Central Constituency in the then Brong Ahafo region of Ghana. He served as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in the immediate-past Parliament and was the acting CEO of the National Health Authority in 2006, and also the deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning under former President Kufuor's administration (2001 to 2008). In this government, he served a Deputy Minister of State in the following Ministries: Trade and Industry, Interior, Finance, Communication and Roads and Transport. He has served on the Boards of institutions such as the Small Arms Commission of Ghana, the Ghana Revenue Authority, Bank of Ghana, and the Divestiture Implementation Committee.
Cabinet minister
In May, 2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo named Kwaku Agyemang-Manu as part of nineteen ministers who would form his cabinet. The names of the 19 ministers were submitted to the Parliament of Ghana and announced by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Ocquaye. As a Cabinet Minister, Agyemang-Manu is part of the inner circle of the President and aids in key decision-making policies for the country.
Committee
He is a member of the Members Holding Offices of Profit Committee.
Controversies
Woyome scandal
In 2005, Mr. Kwaku Agyemang Manu, then Deputy Finance Minister under the Kufuor administration, issued a letter in the absence of the substantive Minister of Finance to a company owned by Mr. Alfred Agbesi Woyome in regards to the construction of stadia's for the CAN 2008. Mr. Woyome then sued the Government of Ghana in 2009 and secured a judgment of over GHC 51 million, relying on the letter issued by Mr. Kwaku Agyemang Manu.
Anti-snake procurement scandal
On the 8 February 2019 the President of IMANI Center for Policy & Education, a Ghanaian-based Think Tank, first reported about various procurement breaches by the Ministry of Health (MoH) in the procurement of Anti-Snake Venom Serum in an open letter on Facebook to the Minister. In an attempt to quell the issue, the Minister was heard on a local radio station, Adom FM, refuting the allegations of tender procurement breaches. A follow-up response was also sent to IMANI in this regard These claims by the Minister were later found to be fabricated to cover up dealings with a local company called Pharmanova. The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) ruled against the Ministry and cited various procurement breaches in its decision and requested the Ministry to disqualify the two Pharmanova companies for double bidding amongst other issues and re-evaluate the tender with the remaining tenderers. This scandal was widely covered in the local media and many wondered why the Minister was still at post after these hard facts leveled against him had caused the loss of many lives in the country due to the shortage of this all important emergency drug. Up until March 2020, the Minister has tried various attempts to cancel the said tender, opened up new tenders for Anti-Snake Venom Serum, ignoring the ruling by the PPA and trying to allocate these new tenders again to Pharmanova Ghana Limited.
Condom scandal
In 2019, the Ministry of Health opened a tender for condoms under bizarre circumstances. Interestingly, no local company who could have had supplied the condoms participated raising questions if the tender was open and widely publicized as required by the Public Procurement Act. It is also interesting to note that the contract again went to Pharmanova Limited.