Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu has defended the government’s handling of the controversial Lightwave e-Healthcare Solutions contract, insisting the dispute centers on contract breaches and financial irregularities rather than political vendettas or administrative grudges.
Speaking on Metro TV on Friday, Kwakye Ofosu laid out what he described as clear evidence of non-performance and financial losses that compelled government action. Lightwave was supposed to connect hundreds of health facilities within three years but did not meet the deadline, even after two extensions, he explained, arguing that this alone freed the government to seek alternative solutions.
The minister went further, revealing findings from an audit that he said exposed significant shortfalls. “An audit revealed shortfalls in hardware, software and services worth nearly nineteen million dollars,” he stated. “On top of that, the state paid ten million dollars more than the value of work done.”
According to Kwakye Ofosu, the evidence points to losses the state cannot ignore, framing the controversy as fundamentally about procurement standards and value for money rather than which administration signed what agreements or political succession dynamics.
“This is about procurement standards and value for money,” he stressed. “It is not about who handed over to who or which administration signed what. It is about ensuring Ghana does not lose public funds because somebody failed to fulfil a contract.”
The defense comes amid escalating tensions between the current government and former Health Minister Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, who has warned that Ghana could lose as much as $50 million if it proceeds with plans to replace Lightwave. The former minister has described the termination decision as “gross financial waste,” insisting the project was already near completion after investing over $73 million and connecting more than 450 public health facilities.
Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has stated that Lightwave received $77 million of the $100 million contract but failed to complete assigned work, connecting fewer than half of the planned facilities. He’s also accused the company of holding Ghanaians “to ransom” by controlling access to health data and having the power to switch the national system on or off at will.
The controversy has evolved into a full blown political confrontation with competing narratives about Lightwave’s performance, ownership structure, and data storage practices. Okoe Boye has pushed back against claims that Lightwave is a foreign company, insisting it’s wholly Ghanaian owned and that all patient data is stored locally in servers managed by the Ministry of Health, not in India as government officials have suggested.
He’s also questioned the government’s decision to engage a new company, the Ghana Health Information Management System, to replace Lightwave. Okoe Boye argued that GHIMS is not a state owned entity and has digitized fewer than five facilities compared to the extensive work completed by Lightwave, warning that replacement could lead to data loss, financial waste, and disruption of health services for millions of Ghanaians.
Kwakye Ofosu has previously emphasized sovereignty and security concerns regarding the arrangement, stating that Ghana cannot allow a foreign company to control national health data affecting millions of citizens. “The country paid for a system that should belong to us. However, we found ourselves unable to operate it without the contractor. They could literally switch the system on and off remotely,” he said in earlier comments.
The National e-Health Project began in 2016 to digitize and network all government health facilities, starting with 25 facilities in the Central Region before expanding after a successful pilot. Following approvals from the Public Procurement Authority and Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health signed the $100 million contract with Lightwave in March 2019 for nationwide rollout.
Okoe Boye has alleged that the Ministry of Health under his tenure maintained a steering committee which included representatives from Lightwave, the ministry’s IT department, and Ghana Health Service to monitor the project’s progress monthly. However, he claimed the new minister has not convened a single committee meeting and is seeking to terminate Lightwave’s contract “to favour another private company.”
Akandoh disclosed that when his ministry tried to engage Lightwave to prevent disruptions, the company refused to give access to data unless contract terms were altered in their favour, and the vendor completely shut down the system for nearly two weeks.
The government has referred the matter to the Attorney General for legal advice while hospitals nationwide continue experiencing temporary disruptions in accessing digital patient records. The standoff has created operational challenges for healthcare facilities that rely on the digital system for patient management, raising concerns about continuity of care.
For Kwakye Ofosu, the government’s position remains clear: contract performance and fiscal responsibility must take precedence over political considerations. Whether Lightwave adequately fulfilled its contractual obligations or was unfairly targeted will likely be determined through legal processes rather than public debates.
The dispute highlights broader tensions around major government contracts that transition between administrations. Incoming governments frequently scrutinize predecessor agreements, sometimes terminating contracts they view as wasteful or corrupt while previous officials defend their decisions as sound and beneficial.
In this case, the technical complexity of health information systems and data sovereignty concerns add layers beyond typical procurement disputes. Questions about who controls Ghana’s health data, where it’s stored, and whether local capacity exists to manage such systems independently carry implications extending beyond the immediate financial controversy.
Okoe Boye has called on the Chief of Staff to intervene and mediate between the Ministry of Health and Lightwave to ensure a fair and transparent resolution that safeguards Ghana’s investment and protects national health data. Whether such mediation occurs or the matter proceeds through legal channels remains to be seen.
For now, hospitals and health facilities caught in the middle continue navigating disruptions while government officials and former ministers debate responsibility for the impasse. The ultimate resolution will determine not just Lightwave’s fate but could set precedents for how Ghana handles complex technology contracts and data sovereignty issues in health and other critical sectors.
As the Attorney General’s office reviews the matter, the public debate illustrates how infrastructure projects spanning multiple administrations create accountability challenges when performance expectations, contractual interpretations, and political motivations intersect in contested spaces.
