I did not withdraw from Contingency Fund for National Cathedral project -Ofori-Atta

The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said he did not breach any constitutional provision towards payment for the National Cathedral project.

Appearing before the eight-member ad hoc committee that is investigating five allegations against him by the Minority, the soft-spoken minister said: “I have not breached the constitution in making payments for the construction of the cathedral.”

The Minority is accusing him of withdrawing money from the Contingency Fund towards the cathedral project. However, he said that is untrue because the funds were withdrawn from the Contingency Vault.

The Contingency Fund is a reserve of money set aside to cover possible unforeseen future expenses.

According to him, the two – Contingency Fund and the Contingency Vault – are two different things altogether, which should not be confused.

“I did not withdraw funds from the Contingency Fund for National Cathedral,” Ofori-Atta said on Friday (18 November 2022).

“The withdrawals were lawfully done from the Contingency Vault and not from the Contingency Fund as alleged by the proponents… all payments made for the cathedral were lawfully done from the Contingency Vault and not the Contingency Fund.”

The eight-member ad hoc committee constituted by the Speaker of Parliament is to assess the vote of censure moved on the floor of the House against the Minister for Finance by the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu.