The National Cathedral Secretariat has flattened some allegations making rounds over the so-called “bombshell” in the registration of the National Cathedral.
According to the Secretariat, the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation Inc., is not the USA branch office of the National Cathedral of Ghana as claimed in the so-called ‘Bombshell’.
It indicated that it is a special-purpose “vehicle” created for the specificities of the US fundraising needs of the National Cathedral project.
In a statement clarifying issues as raised in the “Bombshell”, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana stated that, the foundation is, strictly a mechanism for fundraising in the US with the purpose of raising 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.
“In effect, the so-called difference in name reflects the two areas of fundraising in the US: National Cathedral and Bible Museum,” he stated.
Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah also averred that the claims that the address of US Registration Documents is fraudulent is false and that the so-called “bombshell”, stems from “a basic, but fundamental, lack of knowledge of the US Non-profit sector,” stressing that “A Non-profit 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 Columbia”. This DC address is a “holding address” which receives notices from the regulatory authorities and forwards them to the Non-profit.”
Touching on the identity of two “unknown” men in the US incorporation documents, he noted that the New York based Ghanaian Attorney, Eric Okyere Darko is a lawyer admitted to practice both in Ghana and New York and who holds a master’s degree in international business and trade law and has provided numerous assistances 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.”
On the second “unknown,” Dr Vernon Darko, he said 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. As a member of the U.S. EX-IM Bank’s Sub Saharan African Advisory Committee, he played advisory roles in the establishment of Ghana’s Exim Bank.”
According to Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, Dr Vernon Darko has shown exceptional commitment to the National Cathedral project since its inception in 2017 and introduced the Secretariat to one of the major institutional partners of 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,” he stated.
He also described the claims over a meeting with the “American Consultant who paid $6m as a figment of the imagination, stressing that, “…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.”
To understand the role of Cary Summers, and the US consultants, he said, it is important to understand the vision of implementation for the National Cathedral project.
He gave the assurance that the Secretariat will provide information and clarification on different aspects of the project.
