Health Minister blames Okoe Boye for LHIMS project challenges

The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has fired back at his predecessor, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, over comments about the controversial Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS) project, accusing him of being “part of the mess” facing the Ministry.

Dr. Okoe Boye had earlier criticised Mr. Akandoh’s handling of the stalled project and his decision to engage a new vendor. Reacting to the remarks in an interview on Citi Eyewitness News on Thursday, October 30, Mr. Akandoh said he was baffled by Dr. Boye’s comments.

“I am exceedingly surprised that Okoe Boye should even be talking at this point in time because, to put it bluntly, he is part of the mess we are facing at the moment,” he said.

Appearing earlier before the Public Accounts Committee, Mr. Akandoh accused Dr. Boye of authorising an overpayment to the LHIMS contractor. He claimed that the vendor had received over US$77 million, representing more than 70 percent of the total contract sum, despite delivering less than half of the expected work.

Citing official records, Mr. Akandoh said that as of December 2024, an unutilised advance of US$10.6 million remained with the contractor, contrary to the payment terms of the agreement.

“This is not a pre-payment procedure. You pay as and when the job is executed. So if you have paid more than the work done, it means you have been overpaid,” he told the committee.

The Minister maintained that the alleged mismanagement of contract payments under the previous administration contributed significantly to the ongoing challenges with the LHIMS project.