National Cathedral Secretariat Denies Portions Of Bishop Dag Heward-Mills’ Claims

• The National Cathedral has responded to some of the claims contained in Bishop Heward-Mills' resignation letter that hit the media
• The cathedral secretariat suggests that many of the issues had already been dealt with in the past
• The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral Apostle Opoku Onyinah has said for instance the selection of the site for the project construction and the architect were done before the board of trustees was constituted

The National Cathedral Secretariat has reacted to the exposés contained in Bishop Dag Heward-Mills' letter explaining why he resigned as a member of the Board of the Trustees of the project.

The explosive contents of Bishop Heward-Mills' letter, which was written in August 2022, was recently serialised by Accra-based Citi News.

The letter raised a lot of concerns, including the huge cost of the project, the timing, processes for the award of contracts and a dysfunctional decision-making process that sidelined members on the board of trustees.

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However in a lengthy rebuttal, the cathedral secretariat explained that some of the issues raised by the founder of the United Dominions Church (Lighthouse Chapel International) had been dealt with in the past.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Apostle Professor Opoku Onyinah, said in the statement dated January 19, 2023 that the issues had been clarified during a visit to the office of Bishop Dag Heward-Mills by a delegation led by himself.

He said as a letter dated October 15, 2022 that acknowledged Bishop Heward-Mills' letter of resignation also clarified his concerns.

"The Board was also duly informed of these clarifications at its October 10, 2022 meeting," the statement stressed.

National Cathedral Clarifies Bishop Heward-Mills' Concerns

On Bishop Heward-Mills' concern that the board of trustees was sidelined in important decisions like the selection of Sir David Adjaye as architect, the statement explained that the appointment of the internationally recognised architect and the land on which the project will be constructed on had already been selected by the President.

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It said that these decision were taken before the appointment of the members of the board of trustees by president Nana Akufo-Addo.

Also, concerning questions raised about how the contractors for the project were selection, the statement clarifies as follows:

"The selection of the contractors — RIBADE — for the project, was through a rigorous international procurement process supervised by the Lead consultant, whose contract included the selection of a contractor for approval by the Board of Trustees."

Bishop Dag Heward-Mills also raised concerns about the whopping $400 million price tag on the project.

But the secretariat explained the estimated cost of the landmark project and related activities were approved by seasoned professionals commissioned by the board of trustees.

The statement mentioned the following personalities as members of the technical group included that proposed the cost of the project:

1. Mr Cary Summers, Founding President, Museum of the Bible, USA.
2. Mr Kwame Prempeh, Deputy CEO, PPA;
3. Senior Architect and Project Manager Mr Tony Yeboah Asare;
4. Senior Quantity Surveyor, Dr Joseph Buertey, seconded to the project by the Church of Pentecost;
5. Senior Architect Mrs Becky Yakpo;
6. Mr George Lomotey, Chief Procurement and Supply Chain Manager at Office of the President.

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The statement said the committee reviewed all the proposals by the Lead Consultant before recommending these for approval to the Board.

Dag Heward-Mills’ Resignation As Board Member Confirmed Amid Mounting Controversies

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that public knowledge about Bishop Dag Heward-Mills' resignation from the board of trustees of the National Secretariat in August 2022 has been predicted to trigger other resignations by respected members of the Christian community.

Before he stepped down, outspoken journalist Captain Smart had predicted that he will do so along with two other evangelists who are currently on the board.

Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams and Rev Eastwood Anaba have also been rumoured to leave the board of the secretariat soon over mounting controversies.

Source: YEN.com.gh