Deals surrounding national cathedral project deeply corrupt, lacks accountability - Okudzeto Ablakwa

Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has criticized the dealings surrounding the National Cathedral project, describing them as "hazy and deeply corrupt."

Speaking on JoyFM’s Newsnight, Mr. Ablakwa highlighted the lack of accountability for the project. He pointed out the absence of significant progress and noted that despite substantial investment, the project has stalled.

His comments come in response to the recent announcement by Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Abena Osei Asare, that GH¢339 million has been disbursed for the project.

He alleged contradictions between her statements and those previously made by former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, who denied budgetary allocations for the National Cathedral project and clarified that funds were sourced from a contingency vault rather than the Consolidated Fund.

In light of these discrepancies, he questioned, “Why are they shifting the goalposts? Why the different narratives?”

Background

In November 2022, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta refuted allegations that he had used funds from the Consolidated Fund to finance the National Cathedral project, dismissing these claims as untrue.

His response came following accusations by the Minority that he had allocated GH₵25 million to the National Cathedral Secretariat without parliamentary approval.

Mr. Ofori-Atta made these statements during his appearance before an 8-member Ad-hoc Committee investigating the Minority's motion to censure him.

He asserted that no laws had been violated in relation to project payments, clarifying that he had not accessed funds from the Contingency Fund for this purpose.

The former Finance Minister distinguished between the Contingency Fund, governed by Article 177 of the Constitution and requiring Parliamentary authorization, and the Contingency Vault, a component of the annual Appropriation Act approved by the Finance Committee.

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