The resignation of Dag Heward-Mills comes after the General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church, Pastor Mensa Otabil, also resigned as a member of the Board of Trustees.
The resignation letter of the man of God addressed to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral and copied to about 14 people including President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo expressed his disappointment in the leadership of the edifice for ignoring the concerns raised in several letters. write to them the latest in June 2022 through the Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference.
He said, “I feel that the treatment of the issues I have raised in many of my letters has been unfortunate. My letters have been neglected in the past; not attended to for many years, and at best handled flippantly.
“You may remember that I have spoken passionately and written about costs, design, location, fundraising, church mobilization, and the role of trustees. This, if taken into account, will make our project more feasible. In general, my input, my opinion, and my letter has been despised and set aside.”
He stated that he was surprised that he had not been registered as a Director of the National Cathedral Company of Ghana, a company limited by guarantee even though the President had “verbally appointed him.”
The letter continued: “I do not believe this was negligence but a deliberate omission by the Board. Six years is a long time to correct this failure to register me if it is administrative.”
“That is why I have been for some time now that I am not a trustee of the National Cathedral, but I am still seeking help with the Cathedral because I believe in the vision of the President and I do not have to be a legally registered trustee to do so. So. I mention myself in this letter as a trustee because even though I was not aware of many of the severe decisions of the Board, I was called as such.
He points out that the role of the state and the church in the national project, however, is not clear.
“This lack of clarity robs our vision of the necessary validity. Repeatedly, I ask that we address this appropriately and quickly because it has many dangerous implications for the guardians and individuals involved in this project,” he added.
Although he resigned as part of the Board of Trustees, he said he was not against the building of the cathedral because he strongly believed in the project.
“…I do not want the media or the general public to perceive my resignation as a sign of a lack of support or confidence in the building of the National Cathedral,” he said.
How the National Cathedral began
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo accompanied by senior members of the Ulama laid the foundation stone of the National Cathedral on March 5, 2020, to begin construction.
The Secretariat of the National Cathedral has been set up to collect funds from individuals and the private sector for construction, while work continues.
The Ghana National Cathedral Secretariat is pleased to announce the appointment of Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral project.
Announcing the Board of Trustees at the Presidency on Monday, February 8, 2021, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, expressed his satisfaction that in Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah, a suitable and worthy replacement has been found for the founding Chairman of the Trustees, Most Rev Samuel. Asante Antwi, who died on September 13, 2020.
Rasululloh Prof. Opoku Onyinah in his speech expressed the appreciation of the Trustees to the President for giving them the privilege of being Trustees and thanked them for the honor done by the President. He expressed his hope that, together, he and his team will work to ensure the completion of the National Cathedral.
Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah brings the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, distinguished service to the Church in Ghana, Africa, and globally.
Meanwhile, work on the cathedral has stopped for a month after the project’s contractor, RIBADE Company LTD, allegedly fired more than 200 employees due to lack of funds.
The site for the building, which is a 14.5 hectare plot of land next to the Parliament House of Ghana was stalled after the government spent GH¢200 million on the project.
A letter dated March 14, 2022, signed by the project manager, Grant Ramsay, circulated on social media, asking all workers to return all property belonging to the Human Resources office.
He stated that he was only complying with the section in the contract that asked him to reduce the costs because he did not get any funding for the project.