The founder and leader of the Lighthouse Chapel International, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills has given reasons why he is no longer a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral project.
He resigned from the Board in August 2022.
Dag Heward-Mills’ resignation comes after the General Overseer of International Central Gospel Church, Pastor Mensa Otabil, also stepped down as a member of the Board of Trustees.
The man of God’s resignation letter addressed to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral and copied to about 14 people including President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo expressed disappointment at the leadership of the edifice 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.
He said « 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. »
He stated that he was 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. »
The letter continued: « 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. »
He indicated that the role of the state and the church in the national project is, however, unclear.
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« 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, » he added.
Though he stepped down as part of the Board of Trustees, he said he is not 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, » he noted.
How National Cathedral started
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo accompanied by senior members of the Clergy laid the foundation stone for the National Cathedral on March 5, 2020, to start the construction.
A National Cathedral Secretariat has been set up to raise funds from individuals and the private sector for its construction, while work continues apace.
The Secretariat of the National Cathedral of Ghana is pleased to announce the appointment of Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah as the New Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral project.
Announcing the Board of Trustees at the Presidency on Monday, February 8, 2021, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, expressed his satisfaction that in Apostle Prof Opoku Onyinah, a suitable and worthy replacement has been found for founding Trustee Chairman, Most Rev Samuel Asante Antwi, who passed away on September 13, 2020.
Apostle Prof Opoku Onyinah in his acceptance speech expressed the appreciation of the Trustees to the President for the privilege to serve as Trustees and his gratitude for the honour done to him by the President. He expressed the hope that, collectively, he and the team will work to ensure the completion of the National Cathedral.
Apostle Prof Opoku Onyinah brings to the Chairmanship of the Board of Trustees, distinguished service to the Church in Ghana, Africa, and globally.
Meanwhile, work on the cathedral has come to a halt months after the project contractor RIBADE Company LTD, allegedly sacked over 200 of its workers over a lack of funds.
The site for the edifice, which is a 14.5-acre land next to the Parliament House of Ghana has come to a halt after the government spent about GH¢200 million on the project.
A letter dated March 14, 2022, signed by the project manager, Grant Ramsay, making rounds on social media, asked all the workers to return every property in their possession to the Human Resource office.
It stated that it was only complying with portions in the contract which enjoins them to mitigate costs since they were not receiving funds for the project.
Pulse
