The National Cathedral Project Secretariat has dismissed the claims made by Rev. Eastwood Anaba and Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams that they did not receive the “needed audit” in support of their resignations from the Board of Trustees that is in charge of the National Cathedral’s development.
Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, Executive Director of the National Cathedral Secretariat, disputed the clerics’ recent resignations’ justifications, claiming that they were not valid.
The renowned clergymen, Rev. Anaba, President of Eastwood Anaba Ministries, and Archbishop Duncan-Williams, Founder of the United Denominations of Action Chapel Churches Worldwide, jointly tendered their resignations from the Board of Trustees on October 12, 2023. They cited their resignations as a result of the government’s failure to designate an independent accounting firm to undertake an exhaustive audit of all public funds contributed to the National Cathedral.
In a press release obtained by 1Family Radio, the National Cathedral Project’s Executive Director claims that an audit has already begun.
In a reply on October 17, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah emphasized that Deloitte was hired in March to start the audit and was anticipated to finish it in July 2023 in accordance with the clergymen’s resolution from January 23.
‘’The Board was constantly updated on the process through the Chairman and the Steering Committee, as well as the Executive Director’s reports of the meetings of the Board,” on June 5, 2023.
Citing yet another meeting on September 27, the Executive Director informed the Board that “it is now hoped that the audit will be completed soon to enable fundraising to restart in earnest, following a number of delays due to documentation.”
Taking this into account, the Secretariat denies the claims made by the two former board members that the reason behind their actions was a purported lack of response to their request for an audit.
“Although Archbishop Duncan-Williams and Rev. Eastwood Anaba were not present at both the June 2023 and September 2023 meetings, they and all the other Board members who were not physically present at the meeting were sent copies of all the documents for the Board meeting, including the Executive Director’s report. The claim that they have received no information whatsoever on the audit process is therefore false,” he added.
It is the hope and trust of the Board of the National Cathedral of Ghana that once these nagging issues are satisfactorily dealt with, the public interest and confidence in the project will be restored and rekindled to enable the citizenry to contribute generously to complete the cathedral to the glory of God,’’ the statement concluded.
Source: 1Familyradio