Lightwave eHealth Solutions, developers of the LHIMS digital health platform, has accused the Ministry of Health (MOH) of deliberately attempting to undermine the company through what it describes as persistent fault-finding and questionable oversight arrangements.
According to the company, tensions began to escalate after the Ministry allegedly appointed a rival technology firm to monitor and assess Lightwave’s performance in public hospitals. Lightwave argues that the decision raises serious concerns about conflict of interest and transparency.
The company notes that the current Health Minister, during his time as Ranking Member of Parliament’s Health Committee, never expressed dissatisfaction with LHIMS operations and even endorsed the budget allocations for eHealth at the time. Lightwave says this makes the Ministry’s recent posture difficult to understand.
Budget Deductions and Unreleased Monitoring Report
Lightwave maintains that in 2024, after Parliament had approved the NHIA’s eHealth allocation, GH₵10.45 million was removed from the budget to fund monitoring activities. The amount, they claim, was paid by the NHIA directly to “Company X,” a private firm with reported links to the Minister and his partner.
The company laments that a monitoring report from the 2024 exercise has not been provided, despite formal requests under the Right to Information (RTI) Act made by Lightwave’s legal representatives. The company insists that taxpayers deserve clarity on how such a significant sum was used.
Second Audit Raises More Questions
Lightwave further alleges that the Ministry re-engaged the same company in July 2025 to conduct a fresh audit of facilities using the LHIMS system. Letters were circulated to health institutions announcing the audit, but Lightwave claims no such formal communication accompanied the earlier GH₵10.45 million monitoring exercise in 2024.
The company is questioning why the Ministry would commission a second assessment without first sharing the results of the previous one, and whether Company X is even certified to perform technical audits. According to Lightwave, repeated attempts to obtain a copy of the new audit report have been unsuccessful.
Lightwave’s Project Coordinator also claims that within a year, a competitor was sent to hospitals to administer what they described as a “fault-finding questionnaire,” further fueling concerns of bias.
Disagreement Over Contract Performance
The Ministry of Health has publicly accused Lightwave of failing to meet key obligations under a $100 million contract to link 950 health facilities nationwide. Lightwave counters that civil servants within the Ministry and the Ghana Health Service clarified to the Minister that the remaining 500 facilities represented only 17% of the entire rollout.
This point, Lightwave says, was repeated during a meeting at the Ministry’s conference room attended by ministry lawyers, the Minister’s personal attorney, GHS officials, and two unidentified National Security Directors. Lightwave claims it was not informed that legal representatives would be present, leaving them without counsel during the discussion. The company says recordings of this meeting will soon be made public as the dispute is likely headed for international arbitration.
The Project Manager insists the platform remains functional. “We have not shut down any of our systems. Several public facilities are still actively using our services,” he said.
Breakdown in Engagement
Lightwave accuses the Ministry of failing to engage constructively despite repeated attempts to resolve the impasse. The company says its last substantive meeting with the Ministry was in September 2025, after which only a brief correspondence and a proposal were received.
The company’s legal team has formally requested arbitration under the terms of the contract. According to Lightwave, the only response so far, two weeks after the request, was the Ministry’s notification that the issue had been forwarded to the Attorney General, even though both the AG and the Presidency were already copied in the initial letters.
Discover more from Hot Stories Ghana
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
