To ensure that the National Cathedral Project is carried out without any interference and public criticism, the Board of Trustees have contracted an auditing firm, Deloitte to investigate claims of financial embezzlement and corruption.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah, made this known during an interview on Okay FM on Friday, May 27, 2023.
He was responding to some claims made by Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over the construction of the national cathedral.
Mr Ablakwa, in his latest exposé on the National Cathedral, alleged that the American consultant to the National Cathedral project gave an official address that leads to a warehouse.
He said that when he visited the facility during his trip, he saw no offices but rather: “a ramshackle warehouse with the inscription: Churchill Coffee Company, Wholesale Division.”
The MP also said that Eric Okyere Darko, a member of the legal team of Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong, was listed as a trustee on the Ghana National Cathedral in Washington DC registration documents in the United States.
The MP stated in his social media post that per his checks, the project’s registration details in Ghana differed from what he got from that of the US.
Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah who is concerned about the allegations made refuted the claims stating that “the things people are saying are not the truth.”
According to him, as part of efforts to prove their innocence, they have subjected themselves and activities to auditing.
“Because we the trustees have not seen any corruption going on with the project… we have now contracted a renowned editing firm, Deloitte, to look into our books, so we are not afraid of anything.
“But what we are urging is that we have laws in this country, and if something is not going well, you have to apply the laws. So that if someone has truly embezzled monies meant for the project, the person will be arrested and prosecuted,” he is quoted to have said by Ghanaweb.
He held the assertion that Mr Ablakwa is riding on his allegations against the national cathedral for popularity.
“If something is truly going on, you don’t just publish them just to become popular. These issues should not be used for a popularity contest, channel them through legal means,” he said.
Meanwhile, the clergy is hopeful the National Cathedral of Ghana, when completed, would become the face of Christianity in Africa. Currently, work on the project has been halted due to lack of funds.
Source: The Independent Ghana