National Cathedral Project Has Not Been Suspended - Dr. Paul Opoku Mensah

The Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana has debunked rumors that the project has been suspended.

According to Dr. Paul Opoku Mensah, contrary to the common belief that the location had been abandoned and nothing significant had been built there, two floors have been constructed.

He explained that the project had reached the stage of steel erection, so the construction cannot continue without it.

Dr. Opuku Mensah added that, as the structure is expected to be the largest municipal structure in the nation, only pre-engineered steel will be required for the remainder of the project.

He stated that 100 million dollars will be required to import all of the steel necessary for the construction to proceed.

He explained on Okay FM that the architectural design does not include the use of blocks, so once the secretariat receives the funds, the project will proceed.

He emphasized that the structure's design will aid in its long-term durability.

The cathedral construction has drastically divided national opinion.

In recent months, the project has been frequently in the news, as numerous inquiries have been raised regarding the project's use of allocated resources.

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is one of the individuals who has persistently questioned the work and accused the project administrators of wrongdoing.

The MP, who has been on a mission to expose everything wrong with the project, revealed in his most recent Facebook post that, of the over $58 million allocated for the project, only US$22.07 million went to the contractors, RIBADE JV, for construction.

Already, the government has been criticized for spending a significant portion of the cathedral's allocated funds on consulting services and other expenses.

"Ghanaians will be shocked to learn this morning that of the US$58.14 million in unconstitutionally withdrawn public funds without parliamentary approval for Akufo-Addo's cathedral project, only a fraction of US$22.07 million went to the contractors, RIBADE JV, for actual construction," he said.

According to him, this was revealed when the contractors provided the legislature with information on how the 58.14 million dollar budget for the project was spent.

He added, "This means that of the US$ 58.14 million of taxpayer funds improperly released for Akufo-Addo's cathedral, over US$ 36 million was spent on items other than their core function of construction."

We now know that only 37.9 percent of the total public funds disbursed were distributed to contractors.

However, the lawmaker noted that questions have been expressed regarding how RIBADE JV spent the $22,075,000.

As a consequence, he questioned whether the $100 million the government requested to import steel for the project would be used appropriately.

In any case, based on their own disreputable track record, there is no assurance that 100 million dollars will be used for the stated purpose if they are ever given that amount of money.

The National Cathedral Secretariat has consistently asserted that there has been no malfeasance or corruption in the execution of the project.

It recently hired the renowned auditing firm Deloitte to audit its accounts in the interest of openness and accountability.