Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has called out GhanaWeb, a digital news and advertising portal, for publishing a story he deems misleading following a recent remark on the National Cathedral.

In a Facebook post dated July 21, Mr Kofi Bentil noted that the article with the headline “National Cathedral: Godfred Dame lied to the Supreme Court funds – Kofi Bentil” generated from only a part of comments he made on JoyFM’s Newsfile show, is “misleading”.

According to him, the point he intended to convey was that all statements that the government was not funding the project were wrong.

“That said, it is important to state the correct facts which is why I made the corrections on air,” he said.

Mr Bentil noted that the publication ignored the fact that in the course of the same programme, he made a correction of the facts underpinning some of the comments he had earlier made.

The relevant facts he sought to correct during the programme, which show “that the publication by Ghana Web was misleading,” are as follows:

The current Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaba Torkornoo was not a member of the panel which adjudicated the National Cathedral case filed by Dr. James Kwabena Bomfeh. In fact, she had not even been appointed to the Supreme Court as of the date of the judgment – 23rd January, 2019.

The Attorney-General of the day was Madam Gloria Akuffo and not Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame. Mr. Dame was a Deputy Attorney-General, even though he was counsel on record in that case.

The questions that came before the Supreme Court for determination in the National Cathedral Case were (1) whether it was constitutional for the State to provide assistance for Muslims to perform the Hajj pilgrimage and to allocate land for the building of a national cathedral, and (2) whether the acts of the State in supporting the Hajj pilgrimage and allocating land for a cathedral amounted to “excessive entanglement of the State in religion” and therefore, unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court per Sophia Adinyira JSC, held that while the Constitution prescribed that Ghana was a secular state, “it affirms and maintains the historical, cultural, and religious character of the Ghanaian society. Secularism in the context of the Constitution must be understood to allow, and even encourage State recognition and accommodation of religion and religious identity. The Constitution does not prohibit the Government from supporting, assisting or cooperating with religious groups.”

My information is that, at the time the National Cathedral Case filed by James Kwabena Bomfeh and argued in 2018, leading to  judgment delivered by the Supreme Court in January, 2019, the actual construction of the Cathedral had not commenced. The question of whether it was constitutional for the State to spend the colossal amounts of money, it subsequently did on the construction, which I still believe was excessive, therefore did not arise for determination in that case.

It is unfortunate that Ghana Web ignored the correction I sought to make of the relevant facts in the course of the programme and used only the initial comments I made as its headline story.

Kofi Bentil therefore called on GhanaWeb to not only retract the story but also publish this correction in full. In light of this, GhanaWeb has retracted the story and published the correction in full. The media house published with the headline “Kofi Bentil clarifies remarks on National Cathedral, former AG Godfred Dame.”

Meanwhile, Kofi Bentil has noted that he stands by his “fervid opposition to the patently bad idea of a National Cathedral, and still hold that it was not true that the Government was not going to spend public funds on it.”

With regard to the national cathedral project, Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has rebuffed the widespread report of the government’s intention to repurpose the stalled National Cathedral project into a National Cultural Convention Centre.

His response comes to deny claims that surfaced on Friday, July 18. These claims stemmed from speculation and an unsolicited proposal submitted to the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat by a continental organisation. During an interview on Citi FM yesterday, Tuesday, July 22, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu rendered such claims as “inaccurate and misleading.”

“Contrary to claims that emerged last week, the government has not decided to turn the site into a cultural convention centre; nothing of the sort has happened,” he clarified. He explained that the whole speculation is coming from a proposal that was submitted by a continental organisation requesting to build its headquarters on the site, as it is currently renting a space in Accra for its operations.

According to the proposal, the organisation intends to build a cultural and convention centre for Ghana. “A continental organisation that currently rents space in Accra submitted an unsolicited proposal to establish its headquarters on the site. The proposal includes plans to build a cultural and convention centre for Ghana,” he said.

However, he went on to explain that this proposal has not been accepted by the government, as it has not yet been deliberated on. “It is merely an unsolicited proposal. The government has not accepted it or even considered it,” he added. He went on to reaffirm the government’s stance on the project, saying that the president has no intention of spending a penny on it.

“I can state with authority that as long as President Mahama remains the head of this country, he is unprepared to see even a pesewa of taxpayers’ money put into this National Cathedral project, ” Kwakye Ofosu emphasised. He noted that the future of the site would only be determined after a full forensic audit.

“What happens to the site will be decided once we have all the facts. But I can assure Ghanaians no public funds will go into the cathedral,” he said.

About the National Cathedral project

The National Cathedral project, which was originally supposed to be former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s project, as he explicitly stated during the sod-cutting ceremony of the project in 2017 that it was a personal project he promised God if he helped him win the 2016 elections.

Following the sod-cutting ceremony, the design of the project was assigned to a popular Ghanaian-British architect celebrated for his culturally resonant and socially conscious designs, Sir David Adjaye.

He unveiled the design a year later in March 2018, and construction commenced shortly afterwards. The cathedral was envisioned as an interdenominational Christian space, featuring a 5,000-seat auditorium, chapels, a Bible museum, and cultural elements inspired by Ghanaian heritage.

Despite the project being presented by the former President as a personal vow, initially believed to be funded by donations and other private funds, it ended up being largely funded by taxpayers’ money.

According to the Deloitte audit report, as of December 2023, the government had spent $97 million (GH¢339 million) on the project. This included payments made before contracts were signed, expenses without proper documentation, procurement violations and questionable reimbursements.

The audit revealed that government seed money dried up, and fundraising efforts failed to generate significant private support.

The spotlight on alleged embezzlement and financial mismanagement in Ghana’s National Cathedral project was first brought to public attention by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu. As a vocal opposition figure, he consistently raised red flags about questionable expenditures, procurement breaches, and governance lapses tied to the project.

The embezzlement and financial mismanagement in Ghana’s National Cathedral project were first brought to public attention by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu and current Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. He consistently raised red flags about questionable expenditures, procurement breaches, and governance lapses tied to the project.

Following the discovery of the heavily disembezzled funds, the National Cathedral Secretariat was dissolved by the government.

The dissolution marks a major shift in the government’s stance on the controversial project, which faced widespread criticism over allegations of financial mismanagement, stalled construction, and questions over its funding transparency.

Speaking on Channel One, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Minister of State in Charge of Government Communications, confirmed that the government would no longer provide funding for the abandoned project.

He emphasised that the decision reflects President John Dramani Mahama’s consistent position that taxpayer money should not be used to finance the National Cathedral.

“There are outstanding issues regarding the procurement processes, and outstanding payments that the contractor is demanding, but nobody will answer because there is no National Cathedral," Mr. Kwakye Ofosu stated.

The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has urged the Auditor-General to launch a forensic audit into the controversial National Cathedral project.

Meanwhile, the National Cathedral Secretariat has responded to Deloitte Touche’s report, revealing that the misappropriation of funds occurred within its operations.

According to an internal memo to staff dated July 21, Executive Director of the Secretariat, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, branded the report as false and incomplete.“While the government press conference made reference to audit findings, what was presented was not the actual audit report but rather audit queries that had been responded to in detail.

“This audit report does not exonerate anyone. However, it confirms that there has been no misuse of state funds. All payments made were supported by contracts and guided by legal and financial protocols,” the memo noted.

Deloitte Touche was tasked by President John Dramani Mahama earlier this year to conduct an independent audit on the National Cathedral project.

The report, which covered activities from December 2021 and December 2023, accused the Secretariat of procurement breaches, unsupported expenditures, and governance lapses.

During a press briefing on Friday, July 18, Felix Kwakye Ofosu disclosed that the Secretariat spent 18,500 Ghana cedis on the expenses of one Kharis Psalmist; however, it failed to document the full cost rendered in its records.

"A key example involves academic payment for Mr Kharis Psalmist, who was lodged at the Movenpick Hotel from 16th to 28th February 2022 at 18,500 Ghana cedis.