Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah
Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, has indicated that the cathedral project has been carried out with integrity and without criminality.
According to him, reckless populism and reputationally damaging accusations levelled against officials as well as misinformation and distortions about the project will eventually fail.
The National Cathedral Secretariat said in a statement it had done nothing wrong in response to the latest claims by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, challenging the lawmaker’s constant use of social media to demand accountability.
“It is legitimate, and we welcome parliamentary oversight of state resources in the project. However, we insist, again, that parliamentary oversight is not exercised on social media, but in parliament or through statutory bodies established for the purpose,” the statement noted.
Accusations
Okudzeto Ablakwa stated on social media that the cathedral project is registered in Washington under a different name, and that the “Address of US Registration Documents is fraudulent.”
He also claimed that the identity of two “unknown” men had been included in the US incorporation documents, with no member or clergymen on the Ghana Board of Trustees listed in the incorporation documents.
Ablakwa again alleged that the incorporation of the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc. was “criminally executed through identity theft,” asserting that an IRS tax exempt letter dated December 13, 2021, confirms the employer ID Number used belonged to a 31-year-old Jose Salgado who died on September 17, 2014.
Rebuttal
In a scathing reaction, the National Cathedral Secretariat said the MP’s so-called “bombshells” merely demonstrated his ignorance about incorporating and registering a non-profit organisation in the United States.
The National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation Inc., according to the statement, is not the National Cathedral of Ghana’s USA branch office, but a special purpose “vehicle” developed for the specifics of the National Cathedral project’s US fundraising needs.
“The foundation was, and is, strictly a mechanism for fundraising in the US. And the two issues for which we are fundraising in the US are (i) the National Cathedral of Ghana, and (ii) the Bible Museum,” it said.
It added that this was obvious from the “Form 990 EZ Part Ill,” which plainly specifies the Foundation’s primary exempt purpose.
According to the secretariat, the purpose is to raise funds to support the construction and maintenance of the National Cathedral of Ghana in Accra, Ghana, and a Museum commemorating the history of the Christian Church in Africa.
It was suggested that the so-called name difference symbolises two areas of fundraising in the United States: National Cathedral and Bible Museum.
The statement said the transition to a fully-fledged representation will be a process led by the Board of Directors in Ghana, and with input from the Attorney General, and that this would involve a reconstitution of the current board.
“This so-called bombshell, unfortunately, stems from a basic, but fundamental, lack of knowledge of the US nonprofit sector. A nonprofit organisation needs a registered agent in the state of the registration,” it further stated.
It said this explained why on the incorporation document, it is referred to as “Registered Agents name and address in the District Columbia.”
“This DC address is a ‘holdingBy Ernest Kofi Adu address’ which receives notices from the regulatory authorities and forwards them to the nonprofit.
“In the case of the National Cathedral, this holding address receives notices and forwards them to our Attorney who incorporated the foundation – and whose name and address is ‘Nr Seven’ of the incorporation document.
“Rather than being fraudulent, this process is used by thousands of nonprofits and businesses,” the secretariat schooled the MP.
The secretariat explained that the National Cathedral’s US tax exempt (501© (3) foundation known as the “National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation Inc.,” is a special-purpose vehicle set up primarily for fundraising.
“The current Board is an interim Board set up by the Secretariat and our US consultant, for registration purposes,” the statement added.
It pointed out that a full US Board would be constituted later by the board in Ghana, to align with the January 6, 2022 opinion of the Attorney General on the legal status of the National Cathedral project.
The statement said this fully constituted board may include clergy, adding, “This is a decision for the Ghana Board.”
It noted that identities of the people on the document are two well-placed Ghanaians in the USA who have shown commitment to the National Cathedral project since its beginning.
While Eric Okyere Darko is a Ghanaian attorney based in New York who is admitted to practice in both Ghana and New York, Dr. Vernon Darko is a successful Ghanaian businessman based on the West Coast of the United States.
It noted that Dr. Darko previously served on the US EXIM Bank’s Sub Saharan African Advisory Committee, an entity established by the US Congress to provide expert policy guidance and strengthen bank support for US–Africa export activities.
By Ernest Kofi Adu