A member of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, Rev. Joyce Aryee has dismissed calls for the dissolution of the board due to the several controversies that have plagued the project.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, the founder and leader of the Salt and Light Ministries said, calls for the dissolution of the board of trustees, are just from a small percentage of the public.
“It is their opinion and I violently disagree with them. Again who are these people who are saying it and what percentage of the population is it,” Rev. Aryee said.
Rev Joyce Aryee also stated that the board of trustees did nothing wrong by paying GH¢2.6 million to Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng who is the secretary to the board.
According to her, the money was a refund of a loan provided by Rev. Kusi Boateng and finds the public brouhaha quite strange.
“In August [2022] we were in need of GH¢2.6 million and a letter was written to that effect and a member of the board decided to help until the money came into the account from the Accountant General.
He wasn’t doing any contractual work. Here at salt and light, when the church needs a loan, Joyce Aryee signs a cheque and when the money comes it is refunded. So it wasn’t a loan and there was no interest.”
The Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, on Monday, January 16, petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to probe the GH₵2.6 million paid to JNS Talent, a company owned-by the Secretary of the National Cathedral Board, Victor Kusi Boateng under a different identity.
JNS Talent Centre Ltd which allegedly runs a crèche in Dawhenya was paid some GH¢2.6 million to help build the cathedral, Mr Ablakwa alleged last Wednesday.
The lawmaker further alleged that JNS Talent is owned by one Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
According to him, documents in his possession reveal that Mr Kwabena Adu Gyamfi is the same as Rev. Victor Kusi-Boateng who still serves on the National Cathedral Board as an Executive Council Member/Director.
But Rev. Kusi Boateng in response has described the allegations as a twisted narration of events to pursue a malicious political agenda.
In a statement, the founder and General Overseer of Power Chapel Worldwide said he will avail himself to investigations by CHRAJ after which he will seek redress.
“I have taken note of some defamatory publications and allegations made against my person by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu. I am also informed that Mr Ablakwa has petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate the said allegations he has levelled against me.
“I wish to assure the general public that the statements made by Mr Ablakwa are a twisted narration of events to pursue a malicious political agenda. There has never been any criminal intent nor any crime committed in my dealings with the Government of Ghana or the National Cathedral.
“I look forward to the (CHRAJ) enquiry during which I will present my side of the matter to the Commission. I will subsequently also address the matters fully in public without first seeking to prejudice the public mind as he has done. Additionally, when all is done, I will seek redress against Mr Ablakwa for his deliberate defamatory statements against me.”
