National Cathedral: Ablakwa reveals alleged expenditure on 'infamous' Kempinski symposia

Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has released a document which gives a breakdown of the 'infamous' Kempinski expenditure as provided to Parliament by the Cathedral Secretariat.

According to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, if an amount of GH¢790,845.27 was not diverted, the construction of the cathedral would not have stopped due to lack of payment.

In the list shared on Twitter, the cost of accommodation, Conference and Banqueting amounted to GH¢509, 263.81 while that of travel expenses for invited guests cost GH¢157, 346.46 among others.

“This is the breakdown of the infamous Kempinski expenditure as provided to Parliament by the Cathedral Secretariat.

“Perhaps if this GH¢790,845.27 & other diversions were channeled into actual construction, the contractors wouldn’t have stopped work due to lack of payment,” he shared on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the recently published 2021 Auditor-General's report discovered that a total of GH¢142,762,500 from the national coffers was spent on the Ghana National Cathedral project in 2021.

This particular expenditure was however captured under the government’s priority programmes and interventions for the year under review.

Most recently, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo donated an amount GH¢100,000 towards the completion of the National Cathedral project despite widespread backlash and criticism.

NYA/FNOQ