Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has contradicted the claim by the Secretariat of the National Cathedral of Ghana that the project is state-owned.
The North Tongu MP in a Facebook post on Monday, June 20 contended that documents in his possession show that the project is a private entity.
His assertion is coming on the back of the Secretariat’s explanation on Friday, June 17 that the National Cathedral is a state monument.
Mr. Ablakwa added the document which is purported to be proof that the National Cathedral has been registered as a private entity.
“Another troubling falsehood we have detected is that even though the June 17 press release claims that the National Cathedral of Ghana is a ‘state-owned company’ and thus a ‘public and not a private’ entity, the incorporation documents in our possession reveal rather curiously that the National Cathedral of Ghana is registered as PRIVATE,” he wrote on his Facebook wall.
The MP also alleged that two members of the Board of Trustees have not been registered as members as claimed by the Secretariat of the National Cathedral and have rather been replaced with two other clergymen.
Presiding Bishop of the Lighthouse Group of Churches, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, and Rev. Prof. Cephas Omenyo, Former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church were the persons he said were not registered as directors on the incorporation date of 18th July, 2019.
“The two revered clergymen have at all material times been clearly left out, and substituted with the following names: Samuel Antwi and Kingsley Ofosu Ntiamoah.
“One wonders if Bishop Dag Heward-Mills and Rev. Prof. Cephas Omenyo are aware that despite the public misrepresentations, their names have been patently omitted from the list of eminent registered directors?” Ablakwa quizzed.
A seven-page statement by the Secretariat of the National Cathedral on June 17, explained that “For the avoidance of doubt, the National Cathedral is a National Monument and thus a public, not a private project.
“Legally, the National Cathedral of Ghana is a state-owned company limited by guarantee, and was incorporated under the Companies Act, 1963 (Act 179) on July 18, 2019.”
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana has confirmed that the construction of the religious edifice has stalled.
Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah explained that the status quo can be attributed to “the vagaries of the fundraising”.
In a statement issued on Friday, he however, assured that construction would soon restart.