Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, the Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana, has urged the public to reject any reports indicating that the project has been put on hold.
He stated to Ghana360news at a press conference on Wednesday, that despite the pause in construction, the project is still in progress and that they are trying to find artifacts for the museum and gardens of the National Cathedral.
“The National Cathedral is on the verge of being established. The work is ongoing because it will grow to be one of the biggest institutions. We are already interacting with people who can provide us with artifacts in addition to raising funds. Because you need historical artifacts—which you cannot purchase—if you want to make this a world-class location.
The majority of museums don’t sell these items, so you have to haggle. Some might give them to you as gifts or as part of a permanent exhibit. I’m happy to report that those processes are ongoing on a daily basis.
Dr. Opoku-Mensah listed the activities they have completed, including setting up site offices, preparing the land for the project, installing cranes for work, and buying and installing tons of rebar and other building supplies.
The notion that the board simply “dug a hole” with money donated for the cathedral’s construction is naughty, according to Dr. Opoku-Mensah.
He mentioned that reports on the project, along with designs for the biblical gardens, Bible Museum, and Cathedral, had been sent to Parliament.
The project’s implementation has not involved any criminal activity, according to the Executive Director, who also mentioned that two audits of the cathedral project are still in progress to guarantee accountability.
According to him, the audits consist of a financial audit by Deloitte and an investigation by CHRAJ into procurement and conflict of interest issues.
“Therefore, it is untrue that we are evading responsibility in any way. In actuality, CHRAJ has been engaged in thorough investigations since January. We’ve been working together. The last piece of information I saw from CHRAJ was a questionnaire asking all the details of how the contractors were chosen. Thus, every detail is being considered.”
“There’s a thorough Deloitte audit. Anyone who has made a contribution to the National Cathedral was the last piece of information they were looking for. They desired specifics. In order to ensure that there hasn’t been a problem, we stated that we are dedicated to making sure the procedure takes the necessary amount of time in order to rebuild trust in this project.”
According to Dr. Opoku-Mensah, the board has carried out the project honorably and kept track of every dollar that donors and the state have given them.
Source: Ghana360news.com
