Govt will account for every penny spent on the National Cathedral – Dep. Finance Minister

He said the Akufo-Addo government is ready to account to Ghanaians on the expenditure of the project because it has nothing to hide.

Speaking on Citi FM in Accra. John Kumah said the National Cathedral is a priority for the government.

“If you file parliamentary questions, you wait in Parliament for the answers and not rush to the media as he [Ablakwa] has done. He also speaks about a scandal. What is scandalous about making legitimate payments? We are prepared to answer any questions they may have.”

“I don’t agree with him that the seed money which we have provided for and informed the nation about towards the contribution of the National Cathedral is scandalous. A scandal is what we witnessed when his government decided to pay Woyome millions of dollars when they didn’t even have a contract with government. We have set our priority, which is the building of a Cathedral for the nation, and it is going to be a national monument for the country,” he added.

However, the Deputy Finance Minister was unable to readily provide details on how much money has been raised so far for the project.

“I don’t have the figures now. But I want to assure Ghanaians that there is nothing illegitimate about this. When it is time for us to render accounts, we will do so.”

John Kumah Pulse Ghana

John Kumah’s response comes after the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa revealed that the government has released GHS25 million for the project.

The Minority in Parliament has also filed three urgent questions to compel the Minister for Finance to provide details on how much the state has spent on the National Cathedral Project.

The move by the Minority follows the circulation of a letter indicating the release of an additional GH¢25 million from national coffers for the project as additional seed money.

Over the period, government has indicated that the national cathedral project is to be financed largely by donations from the Christian community.