The National Cathedral Secretariat has defended its activities on the National Cathedral Project and insisted it is being implemented with integrity and with no criminality.
According to the Secretariat, allegations being raised against the project are all false because the National Cathedral is being constructed with integrity and accountability both in Ghana and outside Ghana.
The Secretariat noted, however, that the best defence of the Cathedral project would be to complete it for the nation to see its scope and benefits.
The National Cathedral Secretariat put up this stiff defence at a press conference to respond to various allegations raised by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
The Ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament levelled a number of allegations against the Secretariat after his visit to the United States that include; the absence of a Clergyman on the Ghana Board from the registration in the USA; Fraudulent Address in Washington DC for the Foundation and the use of Faceless Names behind the registration among other allegations.
The Secretariat dispelled the accusations of the North Tongu legislator and insisted there is no wrong-doing in its activities both in Ghana and in the USA.
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The full text of the statement:
THE NATIONAL CATHEDRAL’S ACTIVITIES IN THE USA
PRESS BRIEFING BY: DR. PAUL OPOKU-MENSAH & LAWYER ERIC OKYERE DARKO (USA) NATIONAL CATHEDRAL SECRETARIAT, STATE HOUSE
I. INTRODUCTION
1). Good Morning and thank You all very much for responding so quickly to our invitation to this briefing. We plan to make these Press Briefings a regular part of our activities to ensure that there is enough information on the National Cathedral Project to Ghanaians, whom we are calling upon to support the project.
2). This briefing focuses on our activities in the USA, and responds to a number of accusations, so-called “Bombshells,” by the Ranking Member of Foreign Affairs in our Parliament, Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
3). These accusations include the following:
• Registration of a subsidiary with a different name: “National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation Inc., rather than “National Cathedral of Ghana”.
• No Clergyman on the Ghana Board is on the registration in the USA
• Fraudulent Address in Washington DC for the Foundation
• The use of Faceless Names behind the registration
• The US Consultant, Cary Summers: His Address, and Payments.
• The use of a “false identity” — the social Security of a Dead Man – Jose Salgado — to apply for tax exemption for the foundation
• Incorporation in other states: Illinois and Oklahoma
• Lack of USA Accountability, as the foundation has never filed its returns since 2021
4). These are very serious allegations linked to the US legal and regulatory environment. Thus, we are very privileged to have here this morning one of the “faceless” people behind the registration of the foundation, Lawyer Eric Okyere Darko, who practices law in the USA (New York), and Ghana. He is one of the distinguished Sons of our country who always responds to the call to help his nation. As a lawyer, part of his job is to convince juries, so he has impressive capacity to explain. He leaves back to the USA tomorrow, and so we are happy can have him with us today.
Before he takes over, I want to make three quick remarks.
5). First, ALL these allegations are false. There is no criminality in the National Cathedral Project, as we are implementing the project with integrity and accountability both in Ghana, and outside Ghana.
6). Second, we have not registered the National Cathedral of Ghana in Washington DC under a different name. For the record, the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation Inc., is not the USA branch office of the National Cathedral of Ghana. Rather, it is a special purpose “vehicle” created for the fundraising needs of the National Cathedral project in the US. It is related to the Secretariat’s fundraising roles in the USA, and the two issues for which we are fundraising in the US are i) the National Cathedral of Ghana, and ii) the Bible Museum. And this is clearly reflected in the purpose of the Foundation, which is:
To raise funds to support the construction and maintenance of the National Cathedral of Ghana in Accra, Ghana, and a Museum commemorating the history of the Christian Church in Africa.
7). Third and very critical, on February 6, 2023 I had a long telephone conversation with Hon Okudzeto Ablakwa. This had been facilitated by Archbishop Duncan Williams, who incidentally is celebrating his birthday today. Let me take this opportunity to wish him a Blessed Birthday. Archbishop Duncan Williams wanted Hon Ablakwa and I to talk to reduce the tensions in the country on the project, and to establish the basis for regular communication with the MP for updates and clarification on issues concerning the project.
8). In my February 6, 2023 conversation with Hon Ablakwa, I told him that issues of accountability are critical to a project of this nature. Consequently, it is legitimate, and we welcome, Parliamentary oversight of state resources in the project. However, I insisted that Parliamentary oversight is not exercised on social media, but in Parliament or through statutory bodies established for the purpose. I explained that some of the false accusations he makes on social media are affecting our fundraising activities both in Ghana and the USA.
9). Consequently, I made just one request of him, and that is: Before he accuses the National Cathedral of wrongdoing, he should verify his information. This is because at the heart of accountability is verification. The fact that he goes to the USA and makes these allegations without verification is not only a breach of faith. More importantly, it is unacceptable behaviour by a Member of Parliament, who also happens to be the ranking Member for Foreign Affairs in the country’s Parliament. Such behaviour does not only affect the National Cathedral’s efforts to raise the needed funds to complete the project. More critically, this behaviour of the MP is dangerous to the health of our democracy!
II. RESPONDING TO THE SO-CALLED USA BOMBSHELLS
10). “Fraudulent US Registration Address”. This so-called “bombshell”, unfortunately, stems from a basic, but fundamental, lack of knowledge of the US Nonprofit sector. A Nonprofit organization needs a registered agent in the state of the registration. That is why on the incorporation document, it is referred to as “Registered Agents name and address in the District of Columbia”. This Washington DC address is a “holding address” which receives notices from the regulatory authorities and forwards them to the Nonprofit. In the case of the National Cathedral Foundation, the registration agent (Nr 3 on the incorporation document) is:
Corporation Service Company, 1090 Vermont Avenue N.W. Washington, DC 20005, USA
In other words, what is at this address, and which the MP should have asked for is: Corporation Services Company and NOT the National Cathedral Foundation.
11). “No Member or Clergymen on the Ghana Board of Trustees is listed in the US incorporation documents.” Once again, this is a misunderstanding of the nature of the Foundation. To recap – for emphasis – the National Cathedral’s US tax-exempt (501© (3) foundation – The National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation Inc., is a special-purpose “vehicle” set up primarily for fundraising. The current Board is an interim Board set up by the Secretariat and our US consultant, for registration purposes. And those incorporating must have US Social Security numbers.
Should there be a need for a full representational office, a full US Board will be constituted by the Board in Ghana, to align with the January 6, 2022 opinion of the Attorney General on the legal status of the National Cathedral project. And this fully constituted Board may include clergy. This is a decision for the Ghana Board.
12) The use of Faceless – Unknown – Names behind the US Registration. First, incorporation documents are public documents, and hence the identities of those behind the registration of the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation Inc., cannot be secret. Second, these are two well-placed Ghanaians in the USA who have shown commitment to the National Cathedral project since its beginning.
The first is the New York-based Ghanaian Attorney, Eric Okyere Darko. Mr. Okyere Darko is a lawyer admitted to practice both in Ghana and New York. He also holds a master’s degree in international business and trade law and has provided numerous assistance to the Ghana embassy in New York over the years. He was the first in the US to arrange a meeting – in January 2018 — with potential funders for the project in New York. He subsequently brought some potential New York funders to visit the project in 2021. Despite the incessant misinformation and distortions around the project, this group still remain interested in the project.
The second “unknown,” Dr Vernon Darko (unrelated to Eric Okyere Darko) is an accomplished Ghanaian businessman based in Houston Texas, the West Coast of the US. Dr. Darko previously served on the U.S. EX-IM Bank’s Sub-Saharan African Advisory Committee, an entity established by the U.S. Congress to provide expert policy guidance and strengthen bank support for U.S.– Africa export activities. He has also served on the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce’s Africa Insight Committee Board of Advisors and on the Greater Houston Partnership’s World Trade and Africa Committees and as Chairman of its Chief Executive Board.
Dr Vernon Darko has shown exceptional commitment to the National Cathedral project since its inception in 2017. He introduced us to one of the major institutional partners of the project — the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast – whose leadership he brought to Ghana in September 2018 to visit the project. In addition to being a donor, he has also been central to our fundraising efforts on the West Coast of the USA, and in fact arranged for the Houston Fundraising – attended by the President – to be hosted at the private club of which he is a member.
These two are involved voluntarily with no compensation, whatsoever. These are dedicated sons of Ghana offering to serve their country whenever possible. To impugn malfeasance and question their integrity is extremely irresponsible.
13) The fifth so-called “bombshell” is supposed to be a meeting with the “American Consultant paid $6m”. Akin to the accusations of awarding 34% of the contract figure to the Architect, Sir David Adjaye (instead of the 12.5%), this so-called bombshell is also false. As we refuted in a Press Release of January 7, 2023 no such amount has been paid to Cary Summers. The bulk of our expenditure in the US has been to consulting companies who have developed the National Cathedral’s Bible Museum of Africa (see www.biblemuseumafrica.org).
14) To understand the role of Cary Summers, and the US consultants, it is important to understand the vision of implementation for the National Cathedral project. Beyond its functions as a space for the formal solemn occasions of the state like state funerals, and national
interdenominational worship, the vision is to use the National Cathedral project to develop Ghana into a religious hub for religious tourism. The strategy to achieve this has been to engage the best in the world, with the best in Ghana. Two key persons are central to this strategy: i) the world-renowned Architect Sir David Adjaye, whose reputation and design of the Cathedral have given global visibility to the project, and ii) Cary Summers, the President Emeritus of the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, and whose involvement in the project has created global interest in the Bible Museum. As we have indicated, the integration of the Bible Museum – the largest in the world when completed – and the Biblical Gardens are aimed at transforming Ghana into a hub for international pilgrimage and tourism.
15) The pettiness of using his “casual” dressing – on his way to his daily cycling – to question the credibility of this professional who has been responsible for some of the major religious theme parks in the world, including the Nazareth Village in Israel, and is a major driver of tourism to Israel, is not just unfortunate. More worrying, it reflects a problematic attitude that keeps countries like ours poor.
16) For the record, Cary Summers was appointed as a consultant by the Board of Directors on
December 10, 2019, to coordinate the work on the Bible Museum and develop it into a world-class
Museum; integrate economic engines into the entire National Cathedral project; coordinate the
Business development aspects of the project; and facilitate the project’s international institutional partnership development activities. The total fees paid for his consultancy services is less than a million dollars ($675,000). The rest of the funds paid through the Nehemiah group is payment to the US companies working on the Bible Museum; Legal Fees; arrangements including fundraisers. The full detail is available upon request to the Secretariat.
12) The use of a “False Identity” for Tax Exempt Status. The so-called “Identity Theft”
Bombshell is simply false. The tax-exempt status for a Foundation is received on the basis of an
Employer Identification Number (EIN), also referred to as Taxpayer ID number. In the case of the National Cathedral Foundation, this Taxpayer ID is: 86-3859197. This is not the same as the social security number of the dead person provided by Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (SSN:
863-85-9197). But more critically, a social security number is NOT needed to apply for a 501 (c) (3) – tax-exempt status. Neither is it needed to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Consequently, the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation could not have used the identity of a dead person to apply for tax-exempt status.
13) Incorporation in other US states. This is no bombshell at all but reflects the fundraising realities in the USA. Incorporation in one US state, in this case, Washington DC, does not provide the basis to fundraise in other states. Thus, on the advice of our consultant and lawyers, the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation will be registering in other US states where there is potential to raise funds for the National Cathedral project. And at the moment it is likely to be in 33 of the US states.
14). Lack of USA Accountability, as the foundation has not filed returns since 2021. The final accusation is that the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation Inc is unaccountable and has not filed its tax returns since its incorporation in 2021. This is false, as the foundation, through our lawyers –the Law Office of Beirute – filed its 2021 returns. And this is available upon request, and online. The 2022 returns, whose filing deadline is May 15, 2023, will similarly be filed by our lawyers, the Law Office of Dan Beirute (www.uschurchlaw.com).
III. CONCLUSION
15) The National Cathedral Project is being implemented with integrity, and with no criminality. As with the recklessly populist and reputationally-damaging accusations of the McCarthy era in the USA, we are confident that the misinformation and distortions on the National Cathedral project will – ultimately – unravel!
16) We are, however, aware that the best defence of the National Cathedral project is its completion for the nation to see its scope and benefits. The challenge, therefore, is to mobilize resources outside the state for its completion.
It is to this task that we are focused and committed!
