who should Ghanaians believe? health ministers clash over $10.6 million payment and the fate of ghana’s digital health system

The latest public exchange between Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh and his predecessor, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, has thrown Ghana’s national e-health project into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

What began as a promising digital transformation initiative worth $100 million has now become a point of contention, confusion, and public frustration. Beyond the politics and accusations, this dispute raises urgent questions about transparency, accountability, and the stability of Ghana’s health delivery system.

At the center of the storm is a $10.6 million payment made to Lightwave e-Healthcare Solutions Limited, the contractor responsible for the implementation of the nationwide e-health platform. Both ministers agree on the figures: Lightwave has received $76.99 million to date, with $23 million outstanding. They also acknowledge that over 450 health facilities have been digitised under the project. The argument lies in interpretation — was the $10.6 million an “overpayment,” as Akandoh claims, or an “unutilised advance,” as Okoe Boye insists?

At a Public Accounts Committee hearing on October 30, 2025, Minister Akandoh accused his predecessor of authorising payments that went beyond work delivered. He argued that under normal procedure, payments follow verified milestones — not the other way around. “If you are paid more than the work you have done, you have been overpaid,” he told the committee.

Dr. Okoe Boye, now head of the National Health Insurance Authority, fired back with a statement titled “The LHIMS Controversy: A Case of Giving the Dog a Bad Name to Hang It.” He described the funds in question as an advance awaiting utilisation, not an excess. According to him, halting or replacing Lightwave would be disastrous, potentially wasting over $50 million in public investments and crippling digital health infrastructure built since 2019.

The Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS) was launched in 2017 under the Akufo-Addo administration as part of Ghana’s National E-Health Project. It was developed to digitise medical records, improve data accuracy, and enhance coordination within the health sector. The system integrates electronic medical records, claims processing, and disease surveillance. By 2024, LHIMS had been implemented in hundreds of teaching, regional, and district hospitals to connect patient data, reduce paperwork, and improve service delivery nationwide.

Yet, as the project expanded, tensions over data ownership, system management, and payments emerged. Akandoh told the committee that the software “doesn’t belong to the state” and called it a “national security issue.” In his view, the vendor’s control over data access undermines public interest. Dr. Okoe Boye refuted this, insisting that patient data remains the property of the Republic of Ghana and that each hospital has local servers safeguarding information.

The contract for the Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS) was signed in March 2019 between the Government of Ghana and Lightwave e-Healthcare Solutions Limited at a total value of $100 million. The agreement covered the design, installation, and maintenance of a nationwide digital health infrastructure to support electronic medical records and data management across public health facilities.

The contract had a five-year duration, expiring in March 2024. By the time of expiration, most of the project funds, about $76.99 million—had been disbursed, while $23 million remained outstanding. The expiry has since become a point of contention between successive health ministers, particularly over project completion, payment reconciliation, and ownership of the health data generated under the system.

A System in Limbo

Hospitals across Ghana have been severely affected by the recent disruption of the national health information system, which has been offline for several weeks. Facilities have reverted to paper records, resulting in delays, missing medical histories, and challenges with National Health Insurance verification, with some patients paying out of pocket. Health workers face increased workloads and higher risk of errors due to manual documentation, slowing service delivery.

In response, the Ministry of Health has initiated the development of the Ghana Health Information Management System (GHIMS), citing access issues with Lightwave. Dr. Okoe Boye, however, has criticized GHIMS as an untested private project with limited implementation. The disruption highlights significant governance and accountability gaps, demonstrating how political conflicts can undermine essential health services and reverse progress in Ghana’s healthcare digitisation.

The Bigger Picture: Governance, Trust, and Public Health

The clash between two sitting health ministers, both professionals and public servants, is more than a political spectacle. It reflects a deeper problem in Ghana’s public health governance: the absence of a unified vision and consistent oversight.

When ministers contradict each other on public platforms over such critical issues, it erodes public confidence. Citizens are left wondering: who should we believe? How can a $100 million project designed to strengthen health delivery end up mired in such controversy?

The confusion also raises broader questions about the culture of accountability in public procurement. If systems are built, funded, and later abandoned due to leadership changes or political differences, how can long-term health outcomes be secured? Digital health infrastructure requires continuity, data integrity, and trust — not political disputes and public blame games.

A Call for Clarity and Reform

Ghana cannot afford to treat the $100 million e-health controversy as just another political squabble. There must be a full, independent audit to uncover how public funds were managed, what milestones were truly achieved, and who holds ownership of the national health data. Ghanaians deserve hard facts, not half-truths. Until the truth is laid bare, public confidence in health governance will remain badly shaken.

It is time to draw a clear line on how digital health projects are managed in this country. Data security, transparent procurement, and continuity between administrations must be enforced, not negotiated. The health of millions should never hinge on political loyalty or ministerial turnover. Whether the $10.6 million was an overpayment or an advance is secondary to what this crisis reveals: a system vulnerable to politics, neglect, and weak oversight. Ghana’s health sector needs discipline, accountability, and leadership that serves the public, not egos or partisan agendas.