Saturday, 06 December

Lightwave accuses Health Minister of targeted fault-finding

Health News
LHIMS logo

Lightwave eHealth Solutions, developers of the Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS), has accused the Ministry of Health (MoH) of deliberately undermining its operations through what it calls “targeted fault-finding” and the unlawful engagement of a competitor to monitor and audit its work.

In a strongly worded statement, the company alleged that the Ministry has, on two occasions, contracted a rival firm—referred to as Company X—to evaluate its performance in public health facilities, despite the company having no formal auditing mandate or certification known to Lightwave.

According to the company, this arrangement began in 2024 when GHS10.45 million was deducted from the National Health Insurance Authority’s (NHIA) approved eHealth budget without consulting Lightwave.

The money, they claim, was paid directly to Company X for monitoring services, but no report has been released to date.

Lightwave says it has repeatedly requested the monitoring document through its lawyers under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, but the report remains inaccessible.

“The public, along with Lightwave, deserves transparency regarding the allocation of taxpayers’ money,” the company insisted.

The company further alleges that in July 2025, the Health Minister again engaged the same firm to conduct an audit on LHIMS across public hospitals.

Letters were reportedly issued to facilities—unlike the first engagement in 2024, when no such notice was given.

Lightwave questions why no concerns were raised after the initial GHS10.45 million monitoring expenditure if faults had truly been identified.

The company is also demanding clarity on whether Company X is certified to conduct audits.

The Ministry has reportedly accused Lightwave of failing to meet the terms of a $100 million contract to connect 950 health facilities nationwide to the LHIMS platform.

However, Lightwave counters that government officials had previously explained to the Minister that about 500 remaining facilities constituted only 17% of the total work.

The company claims this clarification was reiterated during what it describes as the only meeting held with the Minister, attended unexpectedly by two Attorneys and National Security officials.
Lightwave says it was not informed that the meeting would involve lawyers and would have brought its own legal team.

“The recordings of this meeting will be shared at a later time, as this matter is likely to proceed to the International Court of Arbitration,” the company revealed.

Despite the conflict, Lightwave maintains that its platform remains functional in some public health facilities.

“We have not shut down any of our systems. Some public hospitals are fully operational, utilising our platform,” the Project Manager said.

The company says it has sought engagement with the Ministry to resolve the dispute, but claims communication has stalled since September.

After its Attorney requested arbitration, the Ministry responded after nearly two weeks, stating only that the request had been forwarded to the Attorney-General, even though the AG’s Office and the Presidency were already copied in the initial correspondence.

 

Lightwave says it is prepared to pursue the matter through arbitration as outlined in its contract with the Ministry.

Source: Classfmonline.com/Cecil Mensah