News
Dr Okoe Boye defends Lightwave, calls for fair resolution of e-health dispute
Former Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, has dismissed recent claims made against Lightwave e-Healthcare Solutions, the company that implemented Ghana’s National e-Health Project, describing the ongoing controversy as an attempt to “give a dog a bad name to hang it.”
In a statement titled “The LHIMS Controversy: A Case of Giving the Dog a Bad Name to Hang It,” Dr Okoe Boye outlined the background of the project and challenged what he described as misinformation surrounding its implementation and management.
He explained that the National e-Health Project began in 2016 to digitize and network all government health facilities. The initiative, which started with 25 facilities in the Central Region, was expanded after a successful pilot.
“Following approvals from the Public Procurement Authority and the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health signed a US$100 million contract in March 2019 with Lightwave e-Healthcare Solutions for a nationwide rollout” he revealed.
According to Dr Okoe Boye, Lightwave has so far digitized more than 450 health facilities, including four teaching hospitals, six regional hospitals, and over 240 district hospitals. More than 150,000 health workers have been trained under the project.
He noted that implementation delays were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, supply-chain challenges, and difficulties in compliance by some facilities. Payments so far total US$76.99 million, with about US$23 million outstanding.
The former minister disputed several claims made by the current Minister of Health, including suggestions that Lightwave is a foreign company and that Ghana’s health data is stored outside the country.
“Lightwave is a wholly Ghanaian-owned company, and all patient data is stored locally in servers managed by the Ministry of Health,” he stated.
Dr Okoe Boye questioned the government’s decision to engage a new company, the Ghana Health Information Management System (GHIMS), to replace Lightwave.
He argued that GHIMS is not a state-owned entity and has digitized fewer than five facilities, compared to the extensive work already completed by Lightwave.
He warned that replacing Lightwave could lead to data loss, financial waste, and disruption of health services for millions of Ghanaians.
“The logical approach would be to allow any new vendor to continue from where Lightwave left off, not to redo completed work,” he advised.
Dr Okoe Boye called on the Chief of Staff to intervene and mediate between the Ministry of Health and Lightwave e-Healthcare Solutions to ensure a fair and transparent resolution that safeguards Ghana’s investment and protects national health data.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The family of Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, a distinguished statesman and diplomat, has paid a courtesy call on President John Dramani Mahama. They officially informed him of his passing.
The delegation, representing the Gbeho family, noted that it was culturally and diplomatically important to formally notify the President of the loss before making a public announcement of his death.
Ambassador Gbeho was a towering figure in Ghanaian and international politics. He served in many diplomatic missions, including New York. He was Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, a Member of Parliament for the Anlo constituency, and President (formerly Executive Secretary) of the ECOWAS Commission.
He was widely respected for his role in regional integration and his contributions to global diplomacy at the United Nations.
President Mahama expressed his condolences and shared reflections on Ambassador Gbeho’s contributions to the country, West Africa and the world.
Funeral details will be announced later.
The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has revoked all firearm permits in Ghana with immediate effect and announced a new registration process for all gun owners.
The minister made the announcement on Tuesday, June 23, at the information service department saying all individuals who currently hold licences to own firearms or sidearms must undergo a fresh registration process.
“From this afternoon, all permits that have been granted to any individual that you are holding a sidearm or firearm is hereby revoked,” Mr Muntaka said.
He explained that the government had identified gaps in the country’s firearm registration system and needed to introduce stricter measures to improve public safety.
“We are opening the window where everyone will have to come forward again to register or re-register the gun because we’ve changed the procedure,” he stated.
According to him, the government decided not to wait until the end of the year to make the changes because lives could still be saved within the next six months.
The Interior Minister said one of the new requirements would be mandatory mental health screening for applicants seeking firearm licences.
“We’ve seen that people with mental health have already gone through and have the sidearm. Now we are introducing mental health. Before we give you the sidearm, we have to be sure that you have the mental stability to hold the firearms,” he said.
Mr Muntaka also announced that applicants would be required to undergo drug tests before being granted licences.
“We’ve also realised that people who are on drugs are also holding their arms and they are legitimate because it’s been registered. Now you have to go through drug tests to be sure that you are not on drugs before you can hold sidearms,” he added.
The minister said the new measures form part of efforts by the government to tighten firearm control and prevent legally registered weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
He urged all firearm owners to cooperate with the new registration process once details of the exercise are announced.
By: Jacob Aggrey
