The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has asked public officials to build public confidence by rendering accountability to the public whenever they undertake any project on behalf of the State.
His comment comes on the back of the audit conducted on the National Cathedral Project by Deloitte Ghana which has not been published yet.
According to Ablakwa, the money involved in the project is state funds and the public deserve to know how that money has been expended.
Speaking on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, October 05, 2024, he asked the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral to make the Deloitte Ghana audit public before making any comments of continuing the project which has stalled for over two years now.
“Let us make it clear to public officials that when you have been given a mandate, –when it has now turned out that this project that started as the President’s personal pledge, they’re not going to use state resources, now it is clear that we’ve used public resources, albeit illegally –you must know that it is the people’s money.
“Every report, every audit, every matter is of public concern, so you do not put out your own interpretation. We all know you are an interested party, so you have to, as a matter of fact, to build public confidence, make sure that you are presenting this report to the public,” he charged.
His comments come on the back of a statement issued by the Board Chairman of the National Cathedral project, Apostle Professor Opoku Onyinah, saying measures are in place to continue the project which has stalled for over two years now.
His announcement followed a meeting between members on the board of the National Cathedral and auditors from Deloitte Friday, September 20, 2024.
Amongst the issues discussed at the meeting was to brief leadership on the statutory audit report, covering the period from the project’s inception to December 31, 2020, which has now been completed by Deloitte Ghana.
Issues of corruption raised by a section of the public regarding the project led to the call for an audit to bring clarity to the questionable expenditures related to the project.
In the Tuesday, September 24, 2024 statement signed by Apostle Opoku Onyinah, it said “the need for an audit was a key demand by the church leadership and Ghanaians in general to establish the credibility of the implementation of the project. With the completion of this first report, preparations are underway for construction to resume.
“We appreciate your support so far, and trust that the completion of the ongoing audit will renew your prayer and financial support for the NCG project.”
The National Cathedral Ghana project is a promise made by President Akufo-Addo to personally construct a cathedral to honour God if He made him win the 2016 elections.
He said the project was going to be funded by the private sector since it is not a State project and was not factored in any of the government’s budget.
Meanwhile, government has since 2018, expended a whooping US$58 million on the project which is still in its foundation stage, with the site now turned into what others have described as a swimming pool.
An estimated $450 million is needed to complete the project and it is not clear if that amount is yet available to complete the construction.
By mid-2022, various church denominations had contributed GH¢2.21 million ($164,000) towards the construction of the national cathedral. Though a large sum, the amount is not sufficient on its own to pay the remaining costs of construction.
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