The National Cathedral Secretariat has denied allegation made against it in connection to the award of some monies to an American consultant, Mr Cary Summers, concerning the cathedral project.
According to the Secretariat, the statement made by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is false. It revealed that the contract is for a set of consultancy services, the most important being the coordination of work on the National Cathedral’s Bible Museum of Africa and the Biblical Gardens of Africa.
“There is no contract for Cary Summers, but rather the Nehemiah group—of which Cary Summers, the founding President of the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, and one of the world’s leading experts on religious theme parks, is the CEO.”
National Cathedral Secretariat
The Secretariat in a statement signed by Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, Executive Director, National Cathedral of Ghana, indicated that the integration of the Bible Museum, which is the largest in the world when completed, and the Biblical Gardens are aimed at transforming Ghana into a hub for international pilgrimage and tourism. It explained that the work of the National Cathedral’s Bible Museum and Biblical Gardens involves some of the leading global firms, which between them have worked on some of the major museums in the world.
“They include: Kubik Maltbie; PRD; Cortina Productions; JMC. The payments to the Nehemiah group, therefore, is not to Cary Summers to organize a fundraiser, but to these world-class firms for their work on the Bible Museum and Biblical Gardens.”
National Cathedral Secretariat
Additionally, the National Cathedral Secretariat noted that it had submitted a copy of the report of the completed Concept Design of the Bible Museum and Biblical Gardens to Parliament on December 15, 2022. It insisted that the total sum paid by the government to the National Cathedral project is accounted for.
“Similarly, the PPA-approved contract to Adjaye Associates was not 34% but 12.5%, below the 16.5% allowable by the Ministry of Works and Housing. More critically, the contract was not to Sir David Adjaye as an Architect, but for Architectural, Engineering and other services involving over 10 international and Ghanaian companies.”
National Cathedral Secretariat
Finally, it stated that a project of this nature that significantly raises the issues of faith and national development will always have its discontents, malcontents, as well as those who would use lies, and reckless populist
statements to give the impression of wanting accountability.
It indicated that the Board and Management of the National Cathedral Project remain focused and committed to the completion of the National Cathedral, and would continue to do so with diligence, integrity, excellence, and accountability.
National cathedral, a financial loss to the state
Mr Ablakwa in a tweet indicated that the Akufo-Addo Government and Cathedral Secretariat gave out a colossal GHS28.2million of taxpayer funds to Mr. Cary Summers, an American consultant & CEO of the Nehemiah Group who has raised less than GHS800k in 3 years.
Mr. Cary Summers, Mr Ablakwa stated, is described on the website of President Akufo-Addo’s Cathedral as a “Consultant for the United States”. With this, he indicated that after receiving the country’s GHS28.2million, Mr Summers spearheaded a US fundraising event for the Ghanaian government and Cathedral Secretariat which raised only a paltry GHS794,990.01.
The North Tongu legislator opined that only the Ghanaian government pays GHS28.2 million for less than GHS800,000, which is all Cary Summers has raised for Ghana in three long years. This, he described as a “classical case of causing financial loss to the state”.
Prior to this, he disclosed that fresh Cathedral documents in his possession revealed that Enterprise Insurance, a company Ken Ofori-Atta is intimately associated with and where his wife serves as a director was granted a sweetheart deal to insure the entire cathedral construction site.
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