Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has revealed that issues identified in the contract for the Lightwave Health Information Management System, signed by the previous government, have been referred to the Attorney General for legal advice and further action. During the Government Accountability Series on Wednesday, October 29, Mr. Akandoh stated that investigations conducted by the ministry uncovered significant irregularities in the execution of the contract with Lightwave.
He noted that the contractor delivered less than half of the planned health facility connections but still received over $77 million, which represents more than 70% of the total contract amount. The Minister also announced that the government has procured a new platform, the Ghana Healthcare Information Management System (GHIMS), to replace the malfunctioning system and ensure the continuation of 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. He added 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.
Source: Leticia Osei
