Health Minister accuses predecessor of overpaying contractor 

Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Minister of Health, on Thursday accused his predecessor, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, of allegedly overpaying the contractor for the controversial Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS) project. 

Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) public hearing in Parliament House, Accra, Mr Akandoh reiterated what he described as serious irregularities in the execution of the project and urged Dr Okoe-Boye to refrain from commenting on the matter. 

“Mr Chairman, today I woke up to a response from the immediate past minister. And if anything is at all, he should keep quiet. It’s not his interest to be talking, because he overpaid the contractor,” he said. 

According to the Health Minister, the contractor received over $77 million, representing more than 70 per cent of the total contract sum, despite completing less than half of the planned health facility connections. 

“This is one of the things he said. He said that payments have been 62 per cent from the Ministry of Finance and 68 per cent from the National Health Insurance Authority, totaling $76.99 million paid. So, he has admitted that about $77 million has been paid, and $23 million are outstanding. 

As of December 2024, reconciliation showed an unutilized advance of $10.6 million yet to be expended by the vendor. And he is the one who paid for this. Why should he be talking?” He stated. 

Mr Akandoh also clarified that the LHIMS contract did not allow for prepayment, insisting that funds were to be released only after work had been executed. 

“Mr Chairman, this is not a prepayment procedure. So, you pay as and when you have done the job. So, if you have paid more than the work you have done, you have been overpaid,” he added. 

The exchange between the current and former health ministers comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the LHIMS contract, which has attracted public and institutional attention over transparency and value-for-money concerns. 

Source: GNA 

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