The Executive Director of the National Cathedral Secretariat, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah says the Secretariat has run out of capital to finance the project. As a result, work on the edifice has been suspended.
He made this revelation on Today when the Redeem Christian Church of God made a donation to the secretariat.
“We have the contractors and their staff outside but the workers have been suspended. We are hoping that within the next couple of weeks, as part of our fundraising and other initiatives we can begin work again,” he stated.
According to him, “our ability to complete this work keenly depends on Ghanaians supporting it.”
The much-talked-about project resurfaced in the media space earlier this year after controversies surrounding the financing of the project heightened.
The Finance Minister had announced that an amount of ¢25 million had been released to the project consultants in May 2022.
This was the second time money tagged as “seed money” was being released except that in the first instance the amount involved was $25million and it was said to have been paid in November 2020.
Despite the issuance of about three press statements, many were still unclear in their minds about the financing arrangements for the construction of the Cathedral which had been described by the President as a “priority of priorities”.
However, Dr Opoku-Mensah has urged Ghanaians to support the course.
According to him, the ambition can only be actualised if the populace unites and contribute to the building of the edifice.
“The money might be big in terms of volume but if indeed we have 21 million Christians and a million can give us ₵100 a month for a year, we can easily complete this in time.
“I refuse to believe that we can’t get a million Ghanaians out of the 21 million Christians to support this. I still have faith in the Ghanaian and I am confident that we will do this,” he said.
North Tongue MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, put out documents showing that an amount to ¢200 million has been dished out towards the construction of the project. This got many Ghanaians talking.
These monies, he said, were dished out without recourse to parliamentary processes or strict public procurement practices.
According to Mr Ablakwa, the Akufo-Addo administration first proclaimed the project as a private and personal pledge; however, public funds are now siphoned to facilitate the task.
He added that the inclusion of the National Cathedral’s Executive Director on the roll of Presidential Staffers also flies in the face of the law.
His revelations have since got many influential individuals and pressure groups questioning the transparency and accountability of government.
SOURCE theGhanaianVoice
