News
Mahama Orders Dissolution of National Cathedral Secretariat, Board Following Damning Audit Report
Following a scathing audit report, President John Dramani Mahama has ordered the dissolution of the National Cathedral Secretariat and initiated legal processes to disband its Board of Trustees.
The directives were announced by Government Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu, who stated that the Secretariat was dissolved as of May 1, 2025.
The action follows a Deloitte and Touche audit of the National Cathedral Secretariat’s operations for 2021-2023, which uncovered a litany of financial irregularities, procurement breaches, and a “general lack of due process.”
The Minister said the findings “rock the very foundation of the project and the work of the Secretariat and raise serious questions about the use of public funds.”
Beyond the immediate dissolutions, the government is taking further steps to address the pervasive issues. The full Deloitte and Touche audit report will be published to ensure transparency, the Minister stated.
The Auditor-General has been requested to commission a comprehensive forensic audit into the operations
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice has been tasked with taking legal steps to lawfully terminate the contract for the National Cathedral project, a measure aimed at “preventing further costs and losses to the state.”
The Minister affirmed that “decisive action will be taken regarding any impropriety determined and the future of the project itself” once the forensic audit is complete.
This signals a potential re-evaluation or complete halt of the controversial project.
National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Executive Committee member and Volta River Authority (VRA) Board Member, Wonder Victor Kutor, has described calls for the resignation of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa as premature and unjustified.
He argued that there was no evidence to establish that the minister had committed any wrongdoing to warrant such demands.
Speaking on Joy News in Accra on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Mr Kutor questioned what had changed to justify the growing calls for the minister to step down.
He recalled that the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, had earlier indicated that the opposition was not accusing Mr Ablakwa of any wrongdoing.
Mr Kutor, therefore, challenged those demanding the minister’s resignation to provide fresh evidence to support their position.
“The call for the Minister to resign is premature, it is untenable. There is no evidence. I mean, what has he done wrong?” he questioned.
He added that documents, including boarding passes, airline receipts and flight manifests relating to the minister’s return journey, had been provided.
Mr Kutor expressed concern that the calls for Mr Ablakwa’s resignation could discourage young politicians from speaking out against corruption and advocating transparency.
According to him, politicians should not be targeted or maligned for demanding accountability, warning that such treatment could create the impression that speaking against corruption could later become a liability when one is appointed to public office.
He maintained that calling for accountability and transparency should not be used as grounds to target public officials without evidence of wrongdoing.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana will host the Africa Festival of Arts, Culture and Creatives (AFESTAC) 2026 alongside Industrial Skills Week Africa (ISWA) 2026 in Accra from December 9 to 12, 2026.
On the back of these programmes, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has called on corporate Ghana, the media and the general public to support the initiative through partnerships, sponsorships and active participation.
The events, supported by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), will bring together stakeholders to celebrate Africa’s rich cultural heritage, strengthen the creative economy, promote industrial skills development and create employment opportunities for young people.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
