The government has declared firm moves towards dissolving the Board of Trustees supervising the contentious National Cathedral project.
The announcement follows the discovery of major financial and governance issues in an independent audit report by Deloitte and Touche.
At a press briefing at Jubilee House on Friday, Government Spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu revealed that President John Mahama has already dissolved the National Cathedral Secretariat, effective May 1, 2025, and that legal action is being taken to formally dissolve the Board of Trustees.
Kwakye Ofosu referred to the audit’s findings, which revealed troubling issues such as unsupported expenditures, procurement breaches, contract value discrepancies, and questionable payments involving international contractors and consultants.
The audit, which covered the Secretariat’s operations from December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2023, indicated that overall project payments and obligations amount to $97 million, greatly above earlier published projections.
Despite the fact that development on the property has been halted for years, the contractor is still owed $39 million.
Mr Kwakye Ofosu stressed that, while the Deloitte audit reveals “deep cracks,” it does not cover the complete breadth of the Secretariat’s operations or the project.
As a result, the Auditor-General has been charged with undertaking a forensic audit to further investigate the project and discover any potential irregularities.
He further stated that the Attorney-General is seeking to terminate the project contract in order to prevent the state from incurring additional financial damages.
“After the forensic audit, decisive action will be taken regarding any impropriety determined and the future of the project itself,” he told reporters.
