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SJB MP and Media Spokesman S.M. Marikkar
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Main Opposition SJB MP and Media Spokesman S.M. Marikkar yesterday alleged that the extra cost the Government would incur by buying Sinopharm vaccines at a higher price than Bangladesh was greater than the amount involved in the much-maligned Treasury bond scam.
He told journalists that the Government had agreed to purchase 14 million doses of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine at $ 15 each, with the exercise to cost $ 210 million or Rs. 42 billion. However, he said that Bangladesh had managed to source a similar quantity at $ 10 each or $ 5 less.
“Why is there a price difference? This in effect means Sri Lanka paying $ 70 million or Rs. 14 billion extra, which is more than the amount involving the Treasury bond scam,” Marikkar alleged.
“The Rajapaksas are very close to China and to be paying higher reflects their inability to negotiate an equal price or cheaper. This is sheer negligence, incompetence and inefficiency or someone is profiteering,” the Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP charged.
“The Government must come clean on this. Be more transparent and if needed, explain why Sri Lanka has to pay $ 15 and what measures will be taken,” Marikkar said. “We also want to know whether what Sri Lanka will be paying for commercial quantities includes the so-called donation of 1.1 million doses from China as a gift to the people of Sri Lanka,” he added.
Marikkar came down hard on pro-SLPP groups and the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka countering Opposition charges, whereas ideally, any response must come from the Health Minister, whose proposal was approved by Cabinet.
“We are not slinging mud at the Government but our position is based on media reports from Bangladesh, which haven’t been denied yet,” the MP added.
Last week, Cabinet approved a decision to purchase via State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) 14 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China National Biotech Group Company following a recommendation from the Cabinet Appointed Negotiation Committee (CANC).
A report by the Bangladesh News24.com quoted the country›s Additional Secretary of the Cabinet Division Shahida Akhter as saying Sinopharm would be purchased at $ 10 each.
“Shipments will arrive in Bangladesh in three phases, starting in June, with five million doses in each consignment. A Cabinet committee approved the $ 150 million purchase plan under a Government-to-Government vaccine deal at a meeting in Dhaka. That means no private companies in Bangladesh will be part of the deal,” added the report. (https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2021/05/27/bangladesh-to-buy-china-vaccine-at-10-a-dose). Bangladesh’s Financial Express too reported similar facts.
A report in Bangladesh›s The Daily Star however said that Ministry officials contested the figure, saying the price had not been approved yet. “A Finance Ministry official sent a text to the messenger group of reporters covering the Ministry, requesting the media not to mention the price in the greater interest of the country,” The Daily Star added. It also said that the Health Minister declined to disclose the price.
Officials of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka implied that Bangladesh may have secured a lower price because of its lower per capita GDP. He also cited how several other countries were paying higher prices including $ 36 by Hungary, $ 40 by Argentina and $ 31.10 by Kazakhstan in addition to the cost in China being $ 29.75 per dose. Officials also claimed that fake news had already disturbed ongoing negotiations between Bangladesh and China.
In a related development, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted that China has reached the 600 million mark in administering Sinopharm vaccines, 100 million of which had been in the past five days.
China administered 17.98 million COVID-19 vaccine doses on May 29, bringing the total number administered to 620.97 million, according to data released by the National Health Commission on Sunday
