The Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has asked that the North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, retracts and apologizes for the falsehood that he was Secretary for the National Cathedral in 2019 since its incorporation.
According to Ablakwa, Godfred Yeboah Dame was registered as Secretary of the National Cathedral Board while also serving on the board of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), which approved the contract for the project design.
“It is quite revealing to observe that when the National Cathedral was incorporated on 18th July 2019; the then Deputy AG, Godfred Dame was registered as Secretary. During that same period, he served on the board of the PPA which approved Adjaye’s irregular sole sourcing contract”, Okudjeto Ablakwa wrote on his Facebook page.
Reacting to this claim, Mr. Dame dismissed the claims of breaching conflict of interest rules in processes leading to the incorporation of the National Cathedral of Ghana as a private company.
According to the Attorney-General, the allegation against him “is utterly false.”
In responding to the question, he explained that “the National Cathedral of Ghana was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee (non-profit making entity) on 18th July 2019.”
“Quite clearly, at the time of the approval by PPA (on whose governing board I served in my former capacity as Deputy Attorney-General), no company known as the National Cathedral of Ghana had been formed for me to be Secretary of, or have any purported interest in to declare. I could not have had a so-called interest in a non-existent company. If Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa had cared to read or examine the relevant documents well, as he should have, this plain fact would not have been lost on him,” he explained.
He further stated that, “for the avoidance of doubt, I state that my role as Secretary (not a director or a member) to a not-for-profit company owned by the State does not present me with any personal interest which conflicts with the performance of my functions as a Minister.”
“The record reflects the fact that even in respect of companies limited by liability (profit-making entities), the State regularly appoints public officers, including Ministers, to serve as members of the board of directors to protect the public interest where the State is a shareholder,” he added.