NPP was angry about GH¢2m bus branding, yet pays GH¢32m for consultancy on “bids opening” – A Plus

Artiste Kwame Asare Obeng, popularly known as A Plus, has bemoaned the payment of GH¢32 million to Sir David Adjaye and Associates Limited, a friend of the Akufo-Addo family for some consultancy job done on the National Cathedral project.

The amount captured as “payment of consultancy services on new bids opening and interviewing of contractors rendered on the national cathedral project”, is said to be different from the cost of designing the building as an architect, which is said to be outrageously high.

His engagements by the Akufo-Addo government did not go through any competitive tender process processes spelt out in the Public Procurement and Financial laws of the country thus angering the membership of the Ghana Institute of Architects.

Excerpts of a document from the Jubilee House entitled; “the Presidency Office of the President Actuals from January to 9^th December, 2021” shows the Sir David Adjaye & Associates Limited was paid an amount of the 32,070,103.02 for what was captured as “payment of consultancy services on new bids opening and interviewing of contractors rendered on the national cathedral project”.

“A Plus” suggested that the amount paid for the consultancy was too much which he said shows the hypocrisy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who criticised the National Democratic Party government for branding government buses with GH¢2 million.

“We were angry because Dzifa Ativor spent a little over (GH¢) 2 million Ghana cedis on bus branding. Today, we, the same NPP people are defending the payment of (GH¢) 32 million Ghana cedis to a consultant for shortlisting a contractor, to build a villa (cathedral) for a sky daddy,” a tweet A Plus shared on Thursday, June 6, 2022, read. “When you talk ‘pɛ’, those foot soldiers who wear shoes like this (a picture in the tweet) attack” the artist added. Deputy Finance Minister, Dr. John Kumah, confirmed that the government made the GH¢32 million payment to Sir Adjaye’s firm after the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, leaked documents showing the transaction on social media. John Kumah, however, noted that there was nothing wrong with the payment of GH¢32 million to Sir David Adjaye and Associates Limited for consultancy work they did for the National Cathedral project.

Dr. Kumah, who is the MP for Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, believes the government has not erred in not detailing the GH¢32 million to Sir David Adjaye and Associates for consultancy on the National Cathedral in the budget.

“Even though it may not be captured as a budget item because it is not under any specific MDA, it can form part of government expenditure, as long as we have captured in the budget that we were going to provide seed funding,” Dr Kumah, explained.

Speaking on The Point of View on Citi TV, Mr Kumah, said the government had given enough clarity on state funding of the cathedral.

This, follows revelations that the Akufo-Addo administration, has grabbed blank cheques to empty the state coffers over the construction of the controversial National Cathedral project to hijack the state coffers and hold blank cheques which they sign and cash out at will.

Nana Akufo-Addo’s bargain with God to build Him a cathedral if he is allowed into the Jubilee House as the President of Ghana, has so far swallowed a whopping GHC200 million of the taxpayers’ money, although nothing significant has been done on the project, aside digging of the site, the burial of a stone from Israel and casting of concrete pillars.

The latest discovery sighted by The Herald is that on October 29, 2020, few weeks to the national elections, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, acting on a request by Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, authorized the release of a gargantuan GHS142, 762, 500.00 the equivalent of US$25 million as “Seed Money for the National Cathedral of Ghana”.

The US$25 million payment preceded the GHS25 million captured in the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta’s letter dated March 31, 2022, with the heading “Seed Money For The Construction Of The National Cathedral” to a mysterious private company called RIBADE Limited.

Again, the US$25 million preceded the GHS 32 million of taxpayers’ money to be paid to Sir David Adjaye & Associates Limited from the Office of the President, as consultancy charges on the National Cathedral project by Sir David Adjaye who is a known friend of the Akufo-Addo family especially Gaby Asare-Otchere Darko.

Many suspect that the 29th October, 2020 money went into prosecuting an electoral agenda as the letter authorizing the payment of the colossal amount did not mention who the recipient was except to vaguely describe the objective of the disbursement as “planned activities”.

The document from Mr Ofori-Atta to Controller and Accountant-General, Kwasi Kwaning Bosompem, and dated October 29, 2020 had simply said “please refer to letter number SCR/DE3296/02 dated 19^th October, 2020 from the Chief of Staff, Office of the President on the above subject matter (copy attached).

Mr Ofori-Atta’s letter had instructed Mr Kwaning-Bosompem, saying “you are hereby authorized to release the sum of GHS142, 762, 500.00 (One Hundred and Forty-Two Million, Seven Hundred and Sixty-Two Thousand, Five Hundred Ghana Cedis) being the cedi equivalent of US$25,000, 000.00 (Twenty Five Million Dollars) converted at an exchange rate of GHC5.7105 to US$1.00 as seed money to the National Cathedral Secretariat to enable the commencement of “planned activities”.