New Patriotic Party (NPP) spokesperson Yaw Opoku Mensah has challenged President John Dramani Mahama to take immediate action on emerging corruption allegations within his administration, arguing the president’s own standards for punishing graft should apply equally to his appointees.
Speaking on The Forum on Asaase Radio on Saturday, November 22, Opoku Mensah criticized Mahama’s recent comments at a Christian Council of Ghana meeting where the president warned that officials implicated in corruption scandals would be hung on the cross like Jesus Christ. The opposition figure said the president must get his wood and nails ready, arguing that allegations emerging from recent procurement and software controversies required urgent attention.
Opoku Mensah, who serves as spokesperson for former education minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, currently an NPP presidential aspirant for 2028, questioned what he described as inconsistent responses from government on the Ministry of Health’s software procurement dispute. He said Mahama appeared not to have averted his mind to the allegations surrounding the Lightwave Health Information Management System contract.
The spokesman said the government’s posture toward corruption risked undermining key social interventions, including the flagship Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme. He also cited claims surrounding the use of District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) machines in Kumasi and the Eastern Region, accusing the government of lacking urgency in investigating suspected misuse of public resources.
The spokesperson further alleged that delays in completing certain road projects due to administrative decisions were killing people. He repeated claims that some sitting Members of Parliament had paid up to GHC 30,000 to secure senior high school placement for their wards, arguing that attempts to overhaul the placement system were meant to serve political interests rather than fairness.
President Mahama’s strong anti-corruption stance was articulated during a courtesy visit by the Christian Council of Ghana on Tuesday, November 18. The president told delegates he regularly reminds his ministers in cabinet meetings not to bring any scandal into his government.
Mahama stressed that the fight against corruption is not personal but a necessary step to safeguard public resources and restore public confidence in governance. He also cautioned that ignoring accountability could threaten national stability, warning that Ghana is not immune to coups or civilian uprisings if the political class does not get its act together.
Joshua Sika Nartey, a member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) communication team, defended the president’s approach on the same radio programme. He said Mahama demonstrates a commitment to transparency and accountability that previous governments lacked.
Nartey noted that the government promised to run the country with 60 ministers and is using even fewer, adding that eleven months into government, there is not a single recorded corruption case. He applauded what he called a measured approach, contrasting it with alleged mismanagement under the NPP administration.
The NDC communicator criticized the opposition for focusing on vanity projects that did not benefit Ghanaians and praised ongoing infrastructure work under Mahama’s leadership. He said appointees are very careful because they know anyone who flouts the law will face consequences, unlike what he described as the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration.
The health sector software controversy revolves around a disputed US$100 million contract awarded to Lightwave Technologies Ghana Limited. The contractor behind the company, Sampson Djaba, is reported to be a relative of President Mahama, sparking partisan debate over the contract’s handling across successive administrations.
Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh explained in Parliament that the project was poorly executed, with only 450 of 950 targeted health facilities connected despite US$77 million already paid. The ministry has rolled out the Ghana Health Information Management System (GHIMS) to replace the previous platform following service disruptions affecting patient care, billing, and insurance verification across public health facilities.
The Lightwave company has disputed the ministry’s characterization, stating that it continued operations throughout 2025 without payment for eight months and provided over US$25 million worth of extra services at the ministry’s request. The firm maintains that all Ghanaian patient data remains the property of the Ministry of Health, with servers located in Accra, not controlled from India as some officials claimed.
Mahama has disclosed that more than 200 corruption-related cases are currently under investigation and prosecution under Operation Recover the Loot, a national initiative aimed at retrieving misappropriated funds and holding offenders accountable. The president said about 80 people have been interrogated so far, with several prosecutions progressing steadily.
The president previously served from 2012 to 2017 before returning to office in January 2025 after defeating NPP candidate Mahamudu Bawumia in the 2024 election. His administration has emphasized due process in corruption cases while promising not to shield any official found guilty of graft.
