Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has urged for the full publication of the 2020 audit report in reaction to the audit report on the National Cathedral project.
He expressed his views in a post on X, highlighting concerns over the integrity of the information provided by the National Cathedral Secretariat, which claimed that audit firm Deloitte had cleared them for the period ending December 31, 2020.
“I have observed quite a number of hirelings engage in a premature frenzy over a statement from the National Cathedral Secretariat claiming that audit firm Deloitte has purportedly cleared them for the period ending December 31, 2020. First of all, let me point out that Ghanaians demand a full publication of the said 2020 audit to draw our own informed conclusions. We shall not rely on the interpretations of an interested party.”
Ablakwa cautioned against prematurely concluding that the 2020 audit, which only covers one year, indicates no adverse findings for the entire project.
He emphasized, “I stress that it is grossly misleading to conclude that because of a 2020 audit report—a report covering only one year—then it means no adverse findings have been made for the entire project.”
He noted that the statement from National Cathedral Board Chairman, Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah, acknowledged that audits for 2021, 2022, and 2023 remain outstanding.
According to documents submitted to Parliament by former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, as of November 21, 2022, only 0.13% of financial releases for the project had been made by 2020.
Ablakwa detailed this by stating, “Specifically, on 7th June, 2019, GHS445,000 (US$89,000) was released for the National Cathedral project. The remaining over 99% of releases happened after 2020.”
He listed several post-2020 releases from the Finance Ministry:
- GHS80,525,461.84 (US$13,972,594.93) on March 5, 2021.
- GHS32,070,103.02 (US$5,564,827.84) on February 10, 2021.
- GHS142,762,500.00 (US$25,000,000.00) on October 29, 2021.
- GHS58,200,000.00 (US$10,000,000.00) on August 19, 2021.
- GHS25,000,000.00 (US$3,515,086.75) on March 31, 2022.
He concluded that these releases totaled GHS339,003,064.86 (US$58,141,509.52), meaning the 2020 audit covered only a fraction of the actual financial activities related to the National Cathedral project.
“As we await a full publication of the 2020 audit, we also eagerly await the completion of the 2021, 2022, and 2023 audits which will cover more than 99% of the releases made,” he stated.
Ablakwa further remarked, “It would be interesting to see how any credible audit can conclude that the world’s most expensive pit which has now been upgraded to a National Cathedral Swimming Pool truly cost US$58.1 million. It would also be interesting to see how the litany of corrupt practices, diversions to Cary Summers and others, inflationary pricing, multiple legal breaches, demolishings, avoidable compensations, and criminal double identity payments will be cleaned up by any credible audit. The real comprehensive audit shall be conducted soon.”
I have observed quite a number of hirelings engage in a premature frenzy over a statement from the National Cathedral Secretariat claiming that audit firm Deloitte has purportedly cleared them for the period ending December 31, 2020.
First of all, let me point out that… pic.twitter.com/zNmWGjDphI
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) September 27, 2024
Meanwhile, the National Cathedral project is set to resume following the completion of the first audit report. Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah confirmed this development in a statement, stating that the audit conducted by Deloitte reviewed the project’s financial activities up to December 31, 2020. He emphasized that the audit was initiated to address public concerns over allegations of corruption and questionable expenditures.
“The need for an audit was a key demand by church leadership and Ghanaians to establish the credibility of the project’s implementation. With the completion of this first report, preparations are underway for construction to resume,” he said, calling for renewed financial and prayer support for the project from the public.
Construction had been suspended in 2022 due to financial constraints, but optimism remains regarding fundraising initiatives. Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, the Executive Director of the National Cathedral Secretariat, noted, “We are hoping that within the next couple of weeks, as part of our fundraising and other initiatives, we can begin work again.”
Despite ongoing public debate about the necessity and transparency of the project, the government estimates that completion will require $450 million, with previous contributions from various church denominations amounting to GH¢2.21 million ($164,000), significantly less than needed.
Source: tigpost.co
