Fire Ofori-Atta - Okudzeto Ablakwa calls for sanctions over National Cathedral funds

Govt releases funds for National cathedral construction

We must set a precedence, Ablakwa

John Kumah defends payment of money to Adjaye

Calls for the removal of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, have been re-stocked after his supervision of some unbudgeted funds that were released towards the construction of the National Cathedral.

This charge is being led by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a myjoyonline.com report has said.

He is calling on parliament to begin processes for the removal of the minister.

News making the round indicates that on October 29, 2020, Ken Ofori-Atta, at the request of the Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Frema Osei Opare, gave authorization for the release of GH¢142.7million towards the construction of the national edifice.

Reacting to the news, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa described the move as a “grave constitutional violation” caused by the Minister of Finance.

He continued that it is his “view that the finance minister must pay for this.”

Asked if he wants parliament to take steps to remove the finance minister, he answered in the affirmative.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP also wants Ken Ofori-Atta to be dragged before Parliament to answer questions regarding this move.

“We must set a good precedent and deter others who, in the future, would engage in such naked dissipation,” he said.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has claimed on social media that more than GH¢200 million funds have so far been released towards the project, an action he described as illegal.

Earlier, the MP had claimed that the government released an amount of GH¢32 million to the architect of the National Cathedral project, Sir David Adjaye & Associates Limited, in 2021.

John Kumah, a Deputy Minister of Finance, has however justified this said amount, stating that the money was a legal payment paid from the Office of the President’s budget.

“Even though it may not be captured as a budget item because it is not under any specific MDA, it can form part of government expenditure as long as we have captured it in the budget that we were going to provide seed funding,” he said.

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