Brutal Audit Report Reveals.
It seems Ghana’s National Cathedral isn’t just a monument to faith; it’s a monument to financial malfeasance.
A recent audit report has unearthed a trail of shady transactions that cast a long shadow over the project, with former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the center of the storm.
The revelation is stark and simple: The government, through the Ministry of Finance, shelled out a stunning GH₵15.7 million to Sir David Adjaye & Associates Limited before a single contract was signed.
This wasn’t a clerical error; it was a year-long series of payments, made between September 2018 and June 2019, while the official agreement waited in limbo until August 2019. The result? A blatant disregard for procurement protocols and a gaping hole in public trust.
The audit’s breakdown reads like a cautionary tale. It started on September 26, 2018, with a GH₵4.1 million payment for “schematic design.” A week later, another GH₵1.75 million followed.
By May 2019, the payments had ballooned, with an GH₵8.2 million payout, followed by two more in June, totaling GH₵1.6 million and GH₵88,750. All of it was sent before the paperwork was even in place.
A Green Light, Long After the Money Was Gone
The scandal gets even deeper. The audit report revealed that some of these payments were made not only without a contract but also before the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) had even given its approval.
The PPA only granted its official green light on December 13, 2018, in response to a request from the Office of the President.
But by that time, two significant payments—totaling GH₵5.85 million—had already left the public coffers. The Akufo-Addo administration, it appears, was in such a hurry to build its monument that it couldn’t be bothered with basic legal and procedural safeguards.
The Deloitte auditors didn’t mince words: they recommended that Akufo-Addo be required to explain why public funds were disbursed without a signed contract or regulatory approval. They also demanded the government produce any memorandum that might justify this flagrant breach of protocol.
A Disavowal of Responsibility
In a move that’s become all too familiar, the National Cathedral Project’s Secretariat has attempted to wash its hands of the mess. In a formal response, it stated that the former president personally commissioned the architect and design team before the board was even established.
In other words, they’re claiming that what happened before their watch is not their problem.
They insist that all payments made under their tenure have been strictly guided by formal agreements, but that does little to address the massive pre-contract spending that started it all.
This audit is more than a financial report; it’s an indictment of the governance and accountability of the Akufo-Addo administration.
The public has a right to know how such a massive project could be handled with such reckless abandon, and why the man at the top isn’t being held to account.
By Prince Ahenkorah