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… Over defence of US$100 million deal
The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has fired back at his predecessor, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, over remarks concerning the now-scrapped Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS) project, describing him as part of the problem confronting the Ministry.
The rebuttal follows Dr Okoe Boye’s criticisms of Akandoh’s handling of the project and plans to transfer the contract to a new vendor. Akandoh described Okoe Boye as acting like an “agent” of LHIMS during an interview on Citi Eyewitness News yesterday, October 30.
Among other things, the company has also been linked to Samson Djaba, a relative of former NPP National Women’s Organizer Otiko Afisa Djaba, who was also the former minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection.
Also mentioned as having a stake in the US$100 million transaction is Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie, the Ranking Member on the Health Committee in Parliament, and MP for the Effiduase-Asokore Constituency in the Ashanti Region.
The Herald’s information is that Samson Djaba, a cousin of President John Dramani Mahama, was detained earlier this year by security officers at Kotoka International Airport over the contract, having been placed on the stop-list due to irregularities noticed in the payments.
Mr Akandoh expressed surprise at the former minister’s comments, including what he considered deliberate lies by his predecessor about which government signed the contract and when.
He revealed that while the Mahama government piloted the system in 2016, a contract was signed in 2019 between the company and the government through the then Health Minister, Kweku Agyeman Manu.
“I am exceedingly surprised that Okoe Boye should even be talking at this point in time because, to put it bluntly, he is part of the mess we are facing at the moment,” he said, and mentioned that before leaving office in January 2025, he paid some US$5 million to the company.
Earlier, at a Public Accounts Committee sitting, the Health Minister also accused Dr Boye of authorising an overpayment to the LHIMS contractor, insisting that the vendor received more than US$77 million, over 70 per cent of the total contract amount, despite delivering less than half of the expected work.
According to Mr Akandoh, official records show that as of December 2024, an unutilized advance of US$10.6 million remained with the contractor, yet to be expended.
He emphasized that the contract did not allow prepayments, adding that funds should be released only upon verified completion of work.
“This is not a pre-payment procedure. You pay as and when the job is executed. So if you have paid more than the work done, it means you have been overpaid,” he told the committee.
Dr Okoe Boye, had stepped into the fray to address recent claims of financial irregularities in the LHIMS contract, stating that all payments made under the agreement corresponded to the work completed by the time his administration left office.
His clarification follows Akandoh’s revelation of significant irregularities in the execution of the LHIMS contract.
Mr Akandoh disclosed that the matter had been referred to the Attorney General for advice and possible action, following findings that suggested the contractor had received over $77 million despite completing less than half of the expected installations.
Dr. Okoe Boye confirmed that the total value of the Lightwave project was $100 million, explaining that about $76 million had been paid to the contractor in line with the progress of work completed.
“The whole work which they are doing is worth 100 million dollars. They have not been paid more than 100 million dollars. At the time we exited, our reconciliation with them showed that the amount of invoices they had raised and the amount of money they had received was equivalent to 76 million dollars,” he said.
According to the former minister, by the time approximately 450 facilities had been connected, the reconciliation indicated that the value of work executed amounted to about $66 million. This left a surplus of $10 million, which was treated as an advance payment under the contract terms.
“We sat down with them when we were there, and it was agreed that 10 million dollars would be treated as an advance certificate. In the contract, an advance certificate means money you have ahead of the job,” Dr Okoe Boye stated.
The LHIMS platform was introduced to digitise and streamline healthcare information across facilities nationwide. The government has since announced plans to replace it with the Ghana Healthcare Information Management System (GHIMS) to enhance efficiency and ensure better data security, at a lower cost.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Wednesday, October 29, Mr. Akandoh said his ministry’s investigations revealed significant irregularities in the execution of the contract with Lightwave.
According to him, the contractor delivered less than half of the planned health facility connections, but still received more than 77 million dollars, representing over 70% of the total contract sum.
The Minister explained that the government has since procured a new platform the GHIMS to replace the malfunctioning system and ensure continuity in healthcare delivery across the country.
“Since we began this journey, all stakeholders have been on board. From the CEO’s of the teaching hospitals, the medical superintendent, EOCO, the Attorney Generla, Minister for Communication, everybody has been on board. So the issue of legality and security issues has been referred to the Attorney General for advice and appropriate action.”
Mr. Akandoh further revealed that the Lightwave contract was never brought before Parliament.
“It was never a contract considered by Parliament,” he revealed, adding that the vendor failed to act in good faith, making any effort to renegotiate the agreement difficult.
“They acted in bad faith,” he said.
The Minister also disclosed that the government had requested Lightwave to hand over control of the system and its infrastructure to the state, as required by the contract. However, complications emerged because the system was hosted on a cloud infrastructure in India, limiting Ghana’s control over the platform.
Meanwhile, the MP for Lambussie and a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and the Subsidiary Legislation Committee, Professor Titus Beyuo, has said that health personnel at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital) are commending the new digital health platform being implemented across the country, describing it as more user-friendly and adaptable than previous systems.
The persistent failures of the Lightwave, had caused widespread disruptions across hospitals, particularly in the Ashanti Region.
Mr. Akandoh had outlined a four-week plan to migrate health facilities gradually onto the new platform. The rollout will start with teaching hospitals, regional hospitals, and heavily populated district hospitals, followed by other district hospitals, clinics, health centres, and CHPS compounds.
The introduction of GHIMS is intended to restore reliable electronic record-keeping, reduce delays in patient processing, and prevent a return to manual systems that had slowed service delivery under the previous Lightwave platform.
Speaking on the Channel One Newsroom yesterday, Prof. Beyuo said staff at Ridge Hospital were celebrating the introduction of the new software, which allows greater flexibility and customisation to meet institutional needs.
“What I can confirm to you is that our colleagues at Ridge Hospital are jubilating as of today because the new software introduced is more user-friendly to them. It is very accessible.
“People can make any changes and customise it to the institutional demands. I have personally called the Minister of Health to suggest that Korle Bu should be the next place for piloting,” he said.
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