Lightwave E-Healthcare Solutions Limited has thoroughly denied the allegations made by Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh regarding the management of Ghana’s National E-Healthcare Programme and the Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS). In a detailed statement issued on Thursday, October 30, the company characterised the Minister’s claims—initially made in Parliament on October 28 and reiterated during the Presidential Accountability Series the following day—as “false and misleading.” The company emphasised that these remarks could distort facts and jeopardise Ghana’s progress in e-health digitisation.
Data control claims dismissed
In response to the Minister’s claim that Ghanaians’ electronic medical records were being “managed from India” without the Ministry’s access, Lightwave stated that this assertion is entirely false. The company emphasised, “The electronic health data of patients generated through the program remains the exclusive property of the Ministry of Health.”
They clarified that all data is stored in a central repository located at the Ministry’s data center in Accra, not in India or any foreign location. Lightwave also noted that while the Ministry owns the data, the LHIMS software used to manage it is the company’s intellectual property, which is licensed to the government under contract.
On project execution and payments
The company also dismissed the Minister’s claim that it had received 77% of the $100 million contract sum despite completing less than half of the project. Lightwave argued that the Minister’s figures were misleading because the contract’s 950 health facilities carried different weights and cost allocations. “The successful deployment in just four teaching hospitals, for instance, accounted for 21% of the total contract value,” it explained. The company maintained that by the time the contract expired on December 31, 2024, it had completed deployments in all teaching and regional hospitals as well as 243 district hospitals—entitling it to about 72% of the contract value.
Delays blamed on Ministry and external factors
Addressing delays in completing the project, Lightwave said the setbacks were largely due to prolonged approval processes, payment delays, and the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Ministry was required to pay within 36 days of invoicing but in practice took an average of 10 months,” it noted. “These delays created severe financial strain on the project.”
Hardware quality and quantity dispute
Lightwave also rejected claims that it supplied substandard or insufficient equipment, insisting that all hardware met contractual specifications and was subject to inspection and warranty clauses. On the allegation that the company delivered fewer laptops than required, Lightwave clarified that the total contractual quantity was 9,544 units—not 13,172 as stated by the Minister—and that deliveries to date corresponded to facilities deployed.
Outstanding payments and ongoing operations
The company further contested the Minister’s claim that no money was owed to Lightwave, revealing that it is yet to be paid for eight months of post-contract work. It also said it continues to support more than 200 facilities that remain active on LHIMS, including the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, and the Eastern Regional Hospital.
Call for resolution
Lightwave urged an end to “uninformed commentary” on the matter and called for a constructive resolution to what it described as an “avoidable impasse.” “The LHIMS has operated efficiently for nearly nine years. We remain ready to work with the Ministry to complete the remaining installations and ensure continuity of care for Ghanaians,” the company stated.
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Source: Citi Newsroom
