Kofi Bentil, the Vice President of IMANI Africa, has stated that history will show Clergymen caused Ghana $97 million and left a hole.
The IMANI vice president detailed that the Clergymen will never be forgotten and will never be forgiven, as history will show they supported wrong in the name of God and caused Ghana almost $100 million.
According to Kofi Bentil, he does not doubt that some of the Reverend Ministers were not corrupt and still respect them.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, July 19, Kofi Bentil, “We have great respect for our Reverend Ministers, but we said it before time. We said do not lend your bible, your customs, and scholars to these politicians who are embarking on an ill-faithed and godless journey, we said it will cause problems. I don’t have a doubt that some of the Reverend Ministers were not corrupt, I still respect them”.
“But for lending themselves to this, for not speaking truth to power, and not standing for what I believe they knew was not exactly right, they will never be forgotten, they will never be forgiven, history will show that at a point like this, they supported wrong this in the name of God and caused this country almost $100 million, broke down building and left with holes,” he lamented.
In addition, Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy, a political activist, has stated that the National Cathedral is a textbook case of causing financial loss to the state.
According to Arthur Kennedy, the whole National Cathedral project is a crime scene.
Arthur Kennedy revealed that nothing has shaken his confidence in the common sense of Ghana’s leadership more than the National Cathedral.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, July 19, Arthur Kennedy aslo added, “Nothing has shaken my confidence in the common sense of Ghana’s leadership more than the National Cathedral”.
“From the president who conceived it to the cabinet, who saw nothing wrong with it, to the parliament that gave it money, to the religious leaders who signed off on it and lent their good name to it it is unconscionable for a country that cannot get clean water, for a government that couldn’t even complete the Krofrom market, for a country who have kids who go to school under trees.”
He added, “If there ever was a cause of financial loss to the state, this is it. It is a textbook case,” he said. “$100 million of a poor country like Ghana’s money into this project, it broke my heart because the government ought not to be in the business of building cathedrals.”
“We had a politicised Supreme Court that was signing off on things that the government was doing. We had people in parliament who wouldn’t stand up and ensure that the right things are done.”
Arthur Kennedy further asserted that the government of Ghana should not be building cathedrals or mosques or even funding people to Mecca.
“Our government shouldn’t be building cathedrals or mosques. It shouldn’t be paying for people going to Mecca. We know these things, these are fundamentals”, he added.
He further accused the National Cathedral board of trying to hide the audit report.
Arthur Kennedy added, “The Deloitte and Touche report said for two years, the board of directors have made materially significant statements in which the facts did not reconcile and there were no supporting documents,” he noted. “That is why the thing stopped there.”
“You know that the National Cathedral board itself didn’t want to release the audit report. They were just waving it at us and saying, ‘See, there was no wrongdoing found,’”
“The whole National Cathedral is a crime scene, from conception to the end”, he added.
