The founder and leader of the Lighthouse Chapel International, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills resigned from the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral project in August 2022.
The reasons for his decision at the time were unknown.
However, Citi News has sighted the revered Bishop’s resignation letter, addressed to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral and copied about 14 people including the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Countless concerns ignored
As part of his reasons for resigning, Bishop Heward-Mills expressed disappointment at the leadership of the National Cathedral for ignoring concerns he raised in several letters he wrote to them with the recent one being in June 2022 through the Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference.
“I feel that the treatment of the issues I have raised in my several letters has been unfortunate. My letters have been ignored in the past; not attended to for years, and at best addressed flippantly.”
“You may recall I have spoken passionately and written extensively about the costs, the design, the location, the fundraising, the mobilization of the churches, and the role of the trustees. These, if heeded, would have made our project more achievable. Generally speaking, my inputs, my opinions, and my letters have been trivialized and set aside.”
Registered directors
He was also surprised to find out that he had not been duly registered as a Director of the Company of the National Cathedral of Ghana, a company limited by guarantee though the President had “verbally appointed him as such.”
He said in the letter sighted by Citi News that, instead, some other people whom he had never met are the real Trustees of the Board.
“I do not believe this is an oversight but a deliberate exclusion from the Board. Six years is a long time to correct this failure to register me if it was indeed an administrative lapse.”
“l have therefore accepted for some time now that I am not a trustee of the National Cathedral, but I have still sought to help with the Cathedral because I believe in the President’s vision and I do not have to be a legally registered trustee to do so. I refer to myself in this letter as a trustee because even though l am not privy to most of the weighty decisions of the Board I am referred to as such.”
Lack of clarity
He also thought the role of the state and the church in the project is unclear.
“This lack of clarity is robbing our vision of the validity it needs. Over and over, I have asked that we address this appropriately and urgently because there are many dire implications to the trustees and the individuals involved in this project.”
The founder and leader of Lighthouse Chapel International, also observed that the trustees of the project were not the ones directing and administering the affairs of the project.
He complained that most of the weighty decisions concerning the project are taken by other people instead of the trustees.
“I have been a reachable and available trustee and attended every single meeting of trustees since the pandemic began, in person and by zoom, and the records will show that. If I say that I, as a trustee, do not know many of the financial and technical issues concerning the Cathedral, it means the discussions about the National Cathedral were held by some people outside the trustees’ meeting or perhaps in a forum that I was not present or invited to.”
“On the one hand, the National Cathedral is said to be a Government of Ghana project, with the government taking financial decisions. Yet, on another hand, at meetings, it is implied that the trustees have taken or participated in taking some decisions.”
While resigning, Bishop Dag said: I would like to state clearly that if in the future, there is more clarity to my role and function in the building of the Cathedral, I remain open, available and willing to serve at the pleasure of the President and the nation. Regardless of your response to my resignation and inputs, I remain a supporter of the National Cathedral project and will endeavour to be present to rejoice with the nation when this project is completed.”
I’m not against National Cathedral
He however clarified that his resignation does not mean he is against the building of the cathedral as he is an avid believer in the project.
“…I do not wish the media or general public to construe my withdrawal as a sign of a lack of support or belief in the building of the National Cathedral.”
National Cathedral Secretariat under fire
The National Cathedral Secretariat has come under fire after revelations that millions were paid to some individuals for no work done.
For instance, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has been on a crusade to expose what he calls rot at the National Cathedral Secretariat.
Mr. Ablakwa had claimed that some GH₵2.6 million was paid to a company owned by a board member of the cathedral, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng.
JNS Talent Centre Ltd which allegedly runs a crèche in Dawhenya was paid some GH¢2.6 million to help build the cathedral, the lawmaker revealed in a tweet last Wednesday.
The lawmaker on Monday, January 16, 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 the Secretariat in a statement explained that the GH₵2.6 million was a refund to JNS talent and not an amount illegally paid to the company.
