Preachers Nicholas Duncan-Williams and Eastwood Anaba are calling for a suspension of the national cathedral project for comprehensive and independent auditing to be done.

In a memo quoted by Accra-based Joy FM, the two ministers said: "In the spirit and cause of transparency and accountability to the Ghanaian people, the current Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral shall appoint an independent, nationally recognised accounting firm to audit all public funds contributed to and spent by the National Cathedral." 

“Auditors will also audit the overall cost of the project." 

"This appointment of an auditor shall take place before the deferment of activities of the Board of Trustees,” portions of the memo read.

It demanded that the "current activities advancing the construction of Ghana’s National Cathedral shall be deferred until the atmospherics in Ghana are improved and the audit of the Cathedral account is done".

Just recently, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills also said the fund-raising techniques being used by the National Cathedral Secretariat were non-effective yet expensive.

According to him, some of the programmes the Board of the National Cathedral Secretariat has held have cost more than the monies they have raised from them.

To this end, he observed that the Board’s fund-raising method had not yielded much and, therefore, they needed a change in strategy.  

“I do believe that the fund-raising methods we have attempted have not yielded much. Indeed, some of the programmes we have held have cost more than the monies we have raised from them. I suggest another form of fund-raising where we would be guaranteed more donations from denominations, churches, individuals, businessmen and corporate bodies. I would be happy to discuss these if the committee is interested in that”, he said in his resignation letter as a trustee of the Board of the National Cathedral.

Bishop Heward-Mills, who is the founder and leader of the Lighthouse Group of Churches bemoaned that six years after President Nana Akufo-Addo cut sod for the construction of the National Cathedral, all that has been done is the excavation of a huge pit at the centre of the city using $30 million of public funds.

“I am a firm believer in the president’s vision. I believe that the public can see and is questioning the fact that we have spent almost six years since the sod-cutting of this project as well as over $30m (thirty million dollars) of public funds, to excavate a massive pit in the centre of the city”, he noted.

He said he believes that many of the questions that are being asked and hurled at the National Cathedral Project are reasonable and legitimate questions by objective citizens who just want answers to their questions.

In his resignation letter, Bishop Heward-Mills noted that “continuing to pay contractors $40,000 (forty thousand dollars) a month, as we wait to procure a huge loan in this hostile atmosphere sounds dicey to me. I do believe that almost six years down the line, we need to look at a different approach to achieve our goal of building God’s house in Ghana.”

Bishop Heward-Mills, who resigned in August 2022, said in his letter that he felt certain concerns and opinions he had expressed about the project were “trivialised” and “set aside”.

“I feel that the treatment of the issues I have raised in my several letters has been unfortunate”, he said in his resignation letter, explaining: “My letters have been ignored in the past, not attended to for years, and, at best, addressed flippantly.”

“You may recall I have spoken passionately and written extensively about the costs, the design, the location, the fundraising, the mobilisation of the churches, and the role of the trustees. These, if heeded, would have made our project more achievable. Generally speaking, my inputs, my opinions, and my letters have been trivialised and set aside.”

Bishop Heward-Mills also complained that despite his appointment by President Nana Akufo-Addo as a trustee, he was never registered as a Director of the Company of the National Cathedral of Ghana, a company limited by guarantee.

“I do not believe this is an oversight but a deliberate exclusion from the Board”, he noted, pointing out: “Six years is a long time to correct this failure to register me if it was indeed an administrative lapse.”

“l have, therefore, accepted for some time now that I am not a trustee of the National Cathedral, but I have still sought to help with the Cathedral because I believe in the President’s vision and I do not have to be a legally registered trustee to do so. I refer to myself in this letter as a trustee because even though l am not privy to most of the weighty decisions of the Board I am referred to as such.”

“This lack of clarity is robbing our vision of the validity it needs. Over and over, I have asked that we address this appropriately and urgently because there are many dire implications to the trustees and the individuals involved in this project.”

“I have been a reachable and available trustee and attended every single meeting of trustees since the pandemic began, in person and by zoom, and the records will show that. If I say that I, as a trustee, do not know many of the financial and technical issues concerning the Cathedral, it means the discussions about the National Cathedral were held by some people outside the trustees’ meeting or perhaps in a forum that I was not present or invited to.”

“On the one hand, the National Cathedral is said to be a government of Ghana project, with the government taking financial decisions. Yet, on another hand, at meetings, it is implied that the trustees have taken or participated in taking some decisions.”

“I would like to state clearly that if in the future, there is more clarity to my role and function in the building of the Cathedral, I remain open, available and willing to serve at the pleasure of the President and the nation. Regardless of your response to my resignation and inputs, I remain a supporter of the National Cathedral project and will endeavour to be present to rejoice with the nation when this project is completed.”

Bishop Heward-Mills said he did not wish the media or general public to “construe my withdrawal as a sign of a lack of support or belief in the building of the National Cathedral.”

The National Cathedral project has been the subject of one controversy after another.

Just recently, the secretariat jumped to the defence of one of its board members, Rev Victor Kusi Boateng, who, according to opposition lawmaker Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, had the board pay some GH₵2.6 million paid to a company he owns – JNS Talent Centre Ltd, which allegedly runs a crèche in Dawhenya.

In his exposé, Mr Ablakwa said the company is owned by one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, who, according to him – per documents available to him – is the same person as Rev r Kusi-Boateng, who serves on the board of the National Cathedral as executive council member/director.

The secretariat explained in its statement: “As a normal verification – expected of a Member of Parliament – would have revealed, this was not an illegal payment but rather a refund of a short-term interest-free loan made by JNS to top up the payments to the contractors of the National Cathedral”.

“This support was sought from a National Cathedral Trustee Member, Rev Kusi Boateng, in a letter dated August 26, 2021, due to a delay in the receipt of funds to pay the Contractors on time”, the statement said.

In his exposé, Mr Ablakwa claimed that not only does Rev Kusi Boateng have a double identity, but also holds multiple passports with different dates of birth.

Mr Ablakwa, in an earlier exposé, had said the National Cathedral Secretariat had transferred a cash sum of GHS2.6 million to a company called JNS Talent Centre Limited for no work done.

The directors of the company, he said, were Johannes Eshun, Sheila Eshun and Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.

In his latest exposé posted on Facebook on Monday, 16 January 2023, the North Tongu legislator disclosed that “there is no distinct Kwabena Adu Gyamfi. Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is a criminal creation of Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng. The two are, therefore, one and the same.”

“Rev. Kwabena Kusi-Boateng AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi sat on the Cathedral board and literally paid his own company a staggering GHS2.6million for no work done,” he said.

Mr Ablakwa is wondering why the Founder of Power Chapel Worldwide keeps two personalities — one as Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng and the other as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.

“Two personalities with different dates of birth; different passports; different TINs; different professions (Business Man and Prophet) and different addresses. What is he running from? Who is he hiding from? Does he suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder or Multiple Personality Disorder”? he quizzed.

The legislator, among other demands, wants Rev. Victor Adu Gyamfi AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi to be subjected to thorough credible investigations and prosecution “for his many other offences which have now come to light.”

He further said he intends to petition the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) at 1 pm today, Monday, 16 January 2023, invoking its mandate under Article 218 of the 1992 Constitution to investigate the odious conflict of interest.

Find details of Mr Ablakwa’s statement below:

Painstaking and diligent parliamentary oversight with the gracious guidance of the omniscient and omnipotent has led to what can only be akin to Tsar Bomba findings.

Blatant corruption, conflict of interest, self-dealing and grand fraud have never been this majestic.

It couldn’t have ever occurred to us that the conduct of an exalted man of God during the sacred construction of the Lord’s temple would leave an entire nation utterly dumbfounded.

You will recall that in my earlier exposé of the scandalous GHS2.6million cash transfer from the National Cathedral Secretariat to JNS Talent Centre Limited, I pointed out that incorporation documents reveal that the three directors of JNS Talent Centre Limited are Johannes Eshun, Sheila Eshun and Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.

I also later revealed that Rev. Johannes Eshun is a branch pastor of National Cathedral Executive Council Member/Director, Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng’s Power Chapel Worldwide.

Hitherto, the third director— Mr Kwabena Adu Gyamfi has remained a mysterious figure.

I am now able to reveal the true identity of this mystery director of JNS, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.

Definitely, the code has finally been cracked and it shocks to the marrow!

Unimpeachable and incontrovertible evidence confirms that Mr Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is the famous Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng who still serves on the National Cathedral Board as an Executive Council Member/Director.

For the avoidance of doubt, there is no distinct Kwabena Adu Gyamfi. Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is a criminal creation of Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng. The two are therefore one and the same.

Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi thought he had outwitted every Ghanaian, particularly our authorities whom he dribbled for many years; but the day of reckoning is finally here.

From unassailable and irreproachable documents in my possession, Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi uses multiple passports and multiple identification cards with different names and different dates of birth as his special modus operandi.

When JNS Talent Centre Limited was being incorporated, he submitted a passport with the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi. The passport’s number is G0886001. At the time, he claimed his date of birth was 30th December 1969.

Instructively, the passport bears his unmistakable picture. (See passport in issue attached).

Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng has used other Kwabena Adu Gyamfi passports. Their passport numbers are G1262918; G0390695 and G3415693. (All duly attached).

Curiously, on 25th November 2021, the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration granted Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng a diplomatic passport. The diplomatic passport which expires on 24th November 2026 rather carries the name Kwabena Adu Gyamfi and not Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng. There’s no indication it’s for the use of a reverend minister. Its diplomatic passport number is DX006845. (Accordingly attached).

The story gets even more fascinating. When the National Cathedral of Ghana was being incorporated on the 19th of July, 2019; Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng used his driving license for the registration. For his driving license, he uses the name Boateng Victor Kusi. In a more bizarre twist, he uses a different date of birth which is captured as 07/09/1971. This date of birth makes him about two years younger than what’s contained in his numerous Kwabena Adu Gyamfi passports. (Driving License is duly attached).

It’s been very puzzling to further discover that the acclaimed man of God and confidant of President Akufo-Addo illegally has two Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs)—P0002502682 and P000627241X. The Ghana Revenue Authority has made clear that each Ghanaian can only have one unique TIN and proceeds to prohibit individuals from having multiple TINs.

Deeper investigations expose a host of companies which Rev. Kusi-Boateng operates as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi on the blind side of many. These businesses are Y-CV Construction Ltd.; Qharis Consortium Ltd.; Kharis Football Academy FC Ltd.; El Dunamis Media Limited; Onpoint 1 Laundry Ltd.; Vibrant Generation Chapel Worldwide LBG; Dunamis Chapel Worldwide LBG; El-Dunamis Enterprise and Duna Media Foundation.

Some of these entities are registered to engage in small-scale mining.

My latest tracking of Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi’s travels reveals that he used his diplomatic Kwabena Adu Gyamfi passport on the 12th of January, 2023 aboard flight KP021 from Accra to Lome. He used the same diplomatic passport to Dubai on December 9, 2022, aboard flight EK787. Earlier on 20th November 2022 he used his ordinary passport on a similar Dubai trip. This shows that he is still actively using the two identities.

It remains exceedingly baffling why he keeps two personalities— one as Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng and the other as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi. Two personalities with different dates of birth; different passports; different TINs; different professions (Business Man and Prophet) and different addresses. What is he running from? Who is he hiding from? Does he suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder or Multiple Personality Disorder?

Having established beyond any scintilla of doubt that Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng is Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/Ofori-Atta government and the Executive Council Members of the National Cathedral of Ghana owe the Ghanaian people some serious explanations. It would be extremely surprising if they claim they didn’t know this dark side of Kusi Boateng AKA Adu Gyamfi.

These explosive findings make the conflict of interest charge in the GHS2.6 million scandalous payment by the National Cathedral of Ghana to the shady JNS Talent Centre Limited even more blatant, direct, offensive and absolutely embarrassing.

Clearly, Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi sat on the Cathedral board and literally paid his own company a staggering GHS2.6 million for no work done.

When the siphoning was completed, they captured the same as “Contractors Mobilization” and presented it to Parliament hoping that they would legitimize the dubious transaction and therefore get away with murder.

It has also emerged from a JNS Bank Statement put out by puerile NPP propagandists that Rev. Kusi-Boateng Adu Gyamfi’s JNS Talent Centre Limited received a whopping GHS3.5million from the government through payment by Controller with swift code CODGGHAC on 23rd August 2021. Many are asking what Kusi-Boateng Adu Gyamfi’s JNS which operated a zero account for many months (since February 26, 2021, when the account was opened) before the sudden government transfer did for government to warrant that huge payment?

This appears to confirm justifiable criticisms that the cathedral project has blasphemously become an avenue for money laundering.

Having stripped Kusi-Boateng naked, the earlier ridiculous concoction that JNS is a benevolent lending institution collapses. JNS must therefore refund our GHS3.5 million and our GHS2.6 million without further delay.

DEMANDS

1. The immediate resignation of Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi from the Board of the National Cathedral of Ghana;

2. Rev. Victor Adu Gyamfi AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi must be compelled to refund all taxpayer funds diverted into his company, JNS;

3. Rev. Victor Adu Gyamfi AKA Kwabena Adu Gyamfi must be subjected to thorough credible investigations and prosecution for his many other offences which have now come to light;

4. President Akufo-Addo must outrightly dissolve the Board of the National Cathedral of Ghana;

5. A special forensic audit must be expeditiously commissioned into the National Cathedral project.

FURTHER ACTIONS

1. I shall be petitioning CHRAJ at 1 pm today invoking its mandate under Article 218 of the 1992 Constitution to investigate the odious conflict of interest;

2. I intend to file an urgent question when Parliament resumes for the Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs to inform Ghanaians why Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng qualified for a diplomatic passport and the nature of due diligence, if any her ministry may have carried out;

3. I also intend to file an urgent question for the Finance Minister on exactly what work JNS did to warrant a colossal transfer of GHS3.5million from our taxes and why that transaction did not find expression in his GHS339million unconstitutional cathedral withdrawals as presented to the Vote of Censure Committee.

God save our Republic.

Ghana first.