Founder and President of World Wide Miracle, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, has reconsidered his support for the National Cathedral project, expressing reservations after learning of corruption allegations and the resignation of senior clergymen from the board.
Mr Tetteh, once excited about the project, now deems it unwise to proceed, citing discomfort among his colleagues.
“I was very excited about it initially but having heard some of the things, if my colleagues there are very uncomfortable I think I will be very unwise to want it done,” he told TV3’s Keminni Amanor on Sunday December 31 edition of Hot Issues.
Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams and Rev. Eastwood Anaba, prominent clergymen, resigned due to the government’s failure to appoint an independent accounting firm to audit funds allocated to the National Cathedral.
Their resignation statement emphasized the absence of a crucial audit to restore public confidence, leading to their conscientious withdrawal from the Board of Trustees.
“Despite our prayers, best hopes and wishes, unfortunately, a needed audit to help restore public confidence and trust in this consequential project has not been enacted to the best of our knowledge. Since January 2023, we awaited news to no avail, regarding the finding of the audit.
“We, therefore, regret that as a matter of conscience and faith, we hereby submit to you our resignation from the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, ” portions of the statement said.
In January 2023, Duncan-Williams and Anaba advocated for a temporary halt to the cathedral’s construction until an audit could be conducted.
They emphasized the challenging economic climate in Ghana, proposing transparency through an independent audit by a nationally recognized accounting firm.
Responding to the resignations, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, Executive Director of the National Cathedral Project, clarified that both clergymen were aware of the engagement with Deloitte for the audit.
He highlighted their participation in meetings, press releases, and updates on the audit process, debunking claims of insufficient information.
Opoku-Mensah also revealed the rejection of the clergymen’s resolution by the Board, citing redundancy and undue politicization linked to the 2024 elections.
Despite attempts to politicize the project, the Secretariat reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and collaboration with auditors to complete the work.
theindependentghana.com