The National Cathedral Secretariat has responded to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency, following the legislator’s latest episode-release on the project.
Ablakwa in this latest revelation, accused the Akufo-Addo-administration of registering the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Foundation, Inc”, as a non-profit organisation in the United States of America. After Ablakwa’s trip to the United States to gather evidence, he wondered why none of the prominent ministers of the gospel who serve as trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, feature in the articles of incorporation and list of trustees, as submitted to US authorities. He made other revelations which caught the eye of the public.
However, in a press statement, the National Cathedral Secretariat criticized the North Tongue legislator for publishing his cathedral epistles on social media.
“As the Secretariat has always argued, issues of accountability are critical to a project of this nature. Consequently, it is legitimate, and we welcome, parliamentary oversight of state resources in the project. However, we insist, again, that parliamentary oversight is not exercised on social media, but in Parliament or through statutory bodies established for the purpose. Consequently, the Secretariat is determined not to be drawn into, or engage in a constant tit-for-tat social media war on the project.
“But as and when necessary, the Secretariat will provide information and or clarification on different aspects of the project. This is what we seek to do in this response to the so-called bombshells from the USA.”
National Cathedral Secretariat
The Secretariat in the four-page press statement took time to debunk the allegations made by the legislator and insisted there was nothing untoward happening.
“As we have insisted, the National Cathedral Project has been implemented with integrity, and with no criminality. As with the recklessly populist and reputationally-damaging accusations of the McCarthy era in the USA, the misinformation and distortions on the National Cathedral project will –ultimately-unravel!” Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana, added in the released statement.
Ablakwa’s Findings Explained by The Secretariat
The Secretariat stated emphatically that the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Foundation Inc are not office branches in the USA but rather a special-purpose “vehicle” created for the specificities of the US fundraising needs of the National Cathedral project.
“The second “bombshell” is that the “Address of US Registration Documents is fraudulent”. This bombshell, unfortunately, stems from a basic, but fundamental, lack of knowledge of the US Nonprofit sector. A Nonprofit organization needs a registered agent in the state of the registration. That is is why on the incorporation document, it is referred to as “Registered Agents name and address in the District Columbia”. This DC address is a “holding address” which receives notices from the regulatory authorities and forwards them to the Nonprofit. In the case of the National Cathedral, this holding address receives notices and forwards them to our Attorney who incorporated the foundation and whose name and address is “Nr Seven” of the incorporation document”
National Cathedral Secretariat
Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah expressed that rather than being fraudulent, this process is used by thousands of Nonprofits organizations and Businesses. He also stated that Ablakwa’s claims that “No Member or Clergymen on the Ghana Board of Trustees is listed in the US incorporation documents”, is wrong because this current Board is an interim Board, set up by the Secretariat and its US consultant, for registration purposes. He stated that a full US Board will be constituted later by the Board in Ghana.
“The fourth bombshell is the ‘Identity of two unknown’ men in the US incorporation documents. First, incorporation documents are public documents, and hence the identities of those behind the registration of the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation Inc., cannot be secret. Second, these are two well-placed Ghanaians in the USA who have shown commitment to the National Cathedral project since its beginning. The first is the New York based Ghanaian Attorney, Eric Okyere Darko. Mr. Okyere Darko is a lawyer admitted to practice both in Ghana and New York. He also holds a master’s degree in international business and trade law and has provided numerous assistance to the Ghana
embassy in New York over the years. He was the first in the US to arrange a meeting – in January 2018 – with potential funders for the project in New York. He subsequently brought some potential New York funders to visit the project in 2021. Despite the incessant misinformation and distortions around the project, this group still remain interested in the project.“The second “unknown.” Dr Veron Darko (unrelated to Eric Okyere Darko) is an accomplished Ghanaian businessman based in Houston Texas, the West Coast of the US. Dr. Darko previously served on the U.S. EX-IM Bank’s Sub Saharan African Advisory Committee, an entity established by the U.S. Congress to provide expert policy guidance and strengthen bank support for U.S.- Africa export activities. He has also served on the Bilateral US-Arab chamber of Commerce’s Africa Insight Committee Board of Advisors and on the Greater Houston Partnership’s World Trade and Africa Committees and as Chairman of its Chief Executive Board. As a member of the U.S. EX-IM Bank’s Sub Saharan African Advisory Committee, he played advisory roles in the establishment of Ghana’s Exim Bank.”
National Cathedral Secretariat
The statement elaborated how Dr. Vernon Darko has shown exceptional commitment to the National Cathedral project, since its inception in 2017. It stated how Dr. Vernon Darko introduced the Ghana government to one of the major institutional partners of the project – the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast – whose leadership he brought to Ghana in September 2018 to visit the project.
It also provided information on the fact that these two are involved voluntarily with no compensation whatsoever, and claiming they are dedicated to Ghana, offering to serve their country, whenever possible. However, it stated that Ablakwa questioning their integrity, was considered irresponsible.
“To understand the role of Cary Summers, and the US consultants, it is important to understand the vision of implementation for the National Cathedral project. Beyond its functions as a space for the formal solemn occasions of state like state funerals, and national interdenominational worship, the vision is to use the National Cathedral project to develop Ghana into a religious hub for religious tourism. The strategy to achieve this has been to engage the best in the world, with the best in Ghana.
“Two key persons are central to this strategy: i) the world-renowned Architect Sir David Adjaye, whose reputation and design of the Cathedral has given global visibility to the project, and ii) Cary Summers, the President Emeritus of the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, and whose involvement in the project has created global interest in the Bible Museum. As we have indicated, the integration of the Bible Museum – the largest in the world when completed – and the Biblical Gardens are aimed at transforming Ghana into a hub for international pilgrimage
National Cathedral Secretariat
and tourism. The pettiness of using his “casual” dressing – on his way to his daily cycling – to question the credibility of this professional who has been responsible for some of the major religious theme parks in the world, and is a major driver of tourism to Israel, is not just unfortunate. More worrying, it reflects a problematic attitude that keeps countries like ours poor.”
The release by the National Cathedral Secretariat explained that the use of the address of Cary Summers is solely for registration and for purposes of incorporating the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum of Africa Foundation.
“We are, however, aware that the best defense of the National Cathedral project is its completion for the nation to see its scope and benefits. The challenge, therefore, is to mobilize resources outside the state for its completion. It is to this task that we are focused and committed!”
National Cathedral Secretariat
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