By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
A private Legal Practitioner, Mr. Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, says his client, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the North Tongu constituency in the Volta region, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa’s only interest is to unearth the truth behind the strange payments to JNS Talent Limited by the National Cathedral Secretariat.
Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa, on Monday, January 16, 2023, petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to probe the GH₵2.6 million paid to JNS Talent, a company owned by the Secretary of the National Cathedral Board, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, under a different identity.
Speaking in a telephone interview, Mr. Tamakloe explained that the claim that the GH₵2.6 million was a refund is not tenable because that amount was paid by JNS Talent to the National Cathedral after an earlier GH₵3.5 million was paid to JNS Talent by the Controller and Accountant General.
“An amount of GH₵3.5 million cedis was paid to this JNS Talent by the Controller and Accountant General, we do know that the Controller disburses public funds. The question is what work did this JNS do for the republic of Ghana to merit the payment of GH¢3.5 million? “When you look at the Bank statements, you realise curiously that it was after the GH₵3.5 million was paid that they wired GH₵2.6 million to the National Cathedral and then a subsequent payment back to them. It is this that my client, Mr. Ablakwa is saying that consistent with article 14 of 1992 and 218 of the article provides that all Ghanaian citizens prevent misuse of public funds, and article 218 requires CHRAJ to investigate,” Mr. Tamakloe explained.
