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National Cathedral: Ofori-Atta Must ‘Shut Up’ Now! – Allotey Jacobs
Bernard Allotey Jacobs, a social commentator and former NDC Central Regional Chairman, has harshly upbraided Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, over his comments on the National Cathedral.
As opposition against the construction of the National Cathedral intensifies with critics calling on the President to either halt the project or use his own money to establish it, Ghanaians are however encouraged to support the President’s vision to complete the Cathedral.
National Cathedral Brouhaha
It could be recalled that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, prior to the 2016 elections, informed Ghanaians he had made a vow to God to construct a Cathedral in His honor in exchange for victory in the 2016 elections.
After the President’s prayer was answered, he was expected to fulfill his promise by financing the project himself, little did Ghanaians know their funds would be involved in constructing this religious edifice.
Up until recently when it came to light that the government was channeling part of taxpayers’ monies to build the Cathedral plus the call on all to contribute a quota towards the project, most of the citizenry were under the impression that the Cathedral was a personal pledge.
It is now obvious that the construction is now the collective responsibility of citizens and if the President’s promise will materialize, the taxpayer must accept for his or her money to be used.
Perhaps, it was no surprise that the North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in a social media post on Wednesday, June 8, claimed that so far, ¢200 million “illegal” funds have been pumped into the project.
National Catheral Will Pay Off
The Finance Minister, over the weekend, sought to assuage the fears of Ghanaians about possible wastage of public funds.
According to him, government will ensure the monies pumped into the construction are recouped within the shortest possible time after construction.
“That question being asked is that are we spending money from state coffers? Is that too much to do because we are politicizing it. Do we really want to stop it? That is going to be my question.
“As a Minister of Finance, we are looking at resources and how much we put in there at every point in time that is sensible and so as we speak, we have spent less than one-thousandth of our expenditure on that,” the Minister said on GTV‘s Talking Point.
He added; “I am very confident of raising revenue to be able to fund this and then more importantly if I want to look into the economics of it, I truly see an overwhelming capacity that this will pay off. Typically, I am looking at an internal rate of return, so we should put this in mind.”
Allotey Replies Ken
Discussing the matter during Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” programme, Allotey Jacobs asked Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta to “shut up” on the project.
He believes it will be more prudent if government interacts with the populace on whether or not to halt the construction or carry on with it.
“Government has flip-flopped on the issue of this Cathedral, so it will better for Ken Ofori-Atta to keep his mouth shut and not talk about it. And even should the government decide to suspend this project, they should consult with the people of this country”, he said.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
