Life for millions in Türkiye and Syria changed forever last Monday, as two consecutive earthquakes sent shockwaves across hundreds of miles.
Nine hours apart and with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, the quakes rocked Türkiye and Syria and were the region’s strongest in nearly a century.
The death toll from the quakes is more than 22,000 as of yesterday, with many still missing and critically injured.
The World Health Organisation put the number of people affected by the disaster at 23 million. At least 6,000 buildings collapsed, many with residents still inside them.
Rescue efforts continue to be the top priority, with some 25,000 deployed in Türkiye and thousands more from overseas — but a bitter winter storm now threatens the lives of the survivors and of those still trapped under the rubble.
Syria, ravaged by 12 years of war and terrorism, is the least prepared to deal with such a crisis. Its infrastructure is heavily depleted, and the country remains under Western sanctions. Thousands of those in the affected areas are already refugees or internally displaced people.
With the dust of the catastrophe still settling, regional analysts are zoning in on the longer-term ripple effect that the catastrophe could have on Türkiye, a country whose 85 million-strong population was already mired in economic problems — and whose military, economy, and politics have a major impact far beyond its borders.
The ABTVGH mourns with the governments and people of Turkey and Syria over the loss of lives and property.
We are equally troubled by the inability of the rescuers to find the Ghana international soccer star, Christian Atsu. Mr Atsu joined Turkish Super Lig side Hatayspor in September 2022 after spending nearly a decade at Chelsea and Newcastle United.
The coach of Christian Atsu’s Turkish club, Hatayspor, said last Wednesday that the Ghana midfielder had not been found following the devastating earthquake in Türkiye. As the rescue effort is ongoing, we remain confident that the player will be found.
For us, the response of the world holds valuable warnings and lessons that extend well beyond the two countries hit by the earthquakes.
The prompt help that Türkiye, in particular, has received from parts of the world shows that the international community can — if it decides to — put geopolitics aside to help a country in need.
Many Syrian victims of the earthquake were already refugees in their own country, living in makeshift homes. Parts of earthquake-hit Syria are controlled by rebel groups; yet the country’s government insists that all international aid must be routed through its agencies.
While the Syrian government must work with aid groups to ensure that help reaches all parts of the country’s territory, regional players, such as Türkiye and Iran, and global powers — the US and Russia — must reflect too.
Meanwhile, the scenes of death and despair in Türkiye and Syria should also serve as an overdue reminder of the risks Ghana faces in ensuring that our buildings are regulated.
While pleading for more aid for the victims of the earthquake, particularly in Syria, we urge our district assemblies to take a cue by ensuring that earthquake-prone zones within localities are properly mapped out so that construction does not take place there.
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, says the National Cathedral project will cost over GH¢1 billion and not the $400 million earlier projected by the government.
The legislator explained that the cost of compensations, demolition, tax waivers, consultancy, coupled with other stuff needed for the construction of the National Cathedral is estimated to cost GH¢1 billion.
Speaking toAbtvgh, Mr. Ablakwa bemoaned the waste of taxpayers’ money on the project.
“The taxes are being misused, GH₵339,003,064.86 million cash withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund, but that is not all. My estimation is that billions will be used, because the cost of compensation, demolition, contracts escalations and all the tax waivers have not been added. So what’s going on here? The project will cost over GH₵1 billion and not the budgeted $400 million by the government,” the legislator emphasised.
The MP for North Tongu pointed out that the government paid a whopping GH₵28.2 million to American consultant Cary Summers to coordinate the Bible Museum and the Biblical gardens for some artifacts for the Cathedral.
This, Mr. Ablakwa asked if the country is wealthy enough to dole out this huge sum of money to Cary Summers.
“In the latest revelation I made, GH₵28.2 million has been paid to one Cary Summers who is an American consultant. What’s the correlation with the Cathedral? Did Jesus Christ pass through the United States, because of this consultancy from the US, for the National Cathedral, we just hand over GH₵28.2 million to him. Can you believe that? Jesus Christ! Are we [Ghanaians] that wealthy that we don’t know what to do with our money? Are we under some curse?” Mr. Ablakwa asked.
However, the National Cathedral Secretariat in a statement said “with regard to the amount paid to the consulting firm, Messrs Sir David Adjaye and Associates in relation to the Cathedral project, release made by the Ministry is in the total amount of GH¢113,040,564.86”.
Read a portion of the National Secretariat’s statement
The National Cathedral Secretariat has denied making payments to the tune of GH¢28 million to Cary Summers, an American consultancy firm as charges to allegedly organize a fundraiser in the United States for the National Cathedral project.
The Member of Parliament for the North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, had accused the Secretariat of seeking the services of the firm that specializes in organizing Christian fundraisers to help it raise money to complete the project which subsequently led to the alleged payments.
The Secretariat was also accused of paying the architect for the project, Sir David Adjaye thirty-four percent of the total contract sum.
“The Akufo-Addo Govt & Cathedral Secretariat gave out a colossal GHS28.2million of taxpayer funds to Mr. Cary Summers, an American consultant & CEO of the Nehemiah Group who’s raised less than GHS800k in 3 years,” he posted on his Twitter handle.
More shocking revelations on the scandalous Cathedral project. The Akufo-Addo Govt & Cathedral Secretariat gave out a colossal GHS28.2million of taxpayer funds to Mr. Cary Summers, an American consultant & CEO of the Nehemiah Group who’s raised less than GHS800k in 3 years.
But the Secretariat in a six-point press release denied all the allegations.
To the accusation of paying Cary Summers GH¢28 million as consultancy fees, the Secretariat explained that: “there is no contract for Cary Summers, but rather the Nehemiah group—of which Cary Summers, the founding President of the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, and one of the world’s leading experts on religious theme parks, is the CEO. And this contract is for a set of consultancy services, the most important being the coordination of work on the National Cathedral’s Bible Museum of Africa, and the Biblical Gardens of Africa. 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.”
“The work of the National Cathedral’s Bible Museum and Biblical Gardens involves some of the leading global firms, who between them have worked on some of the major museums in the world. They include: Kubik Maltbie; PRD; Cortina Productions; JMC. The payments to the Nehemiah group, therefore, is not to Cary Summers to organize a fundraiser, but to these world-class firms for their work on the Bible Museum and Biblical Gardens.”
The Secretariat said there is neither anything sinister nor hidden about the said contract which is breeding the rumours because “the National Cathedral Secretariat submitted a copy of the report of the completed Concept Design of the Bible Museum and Biblical Gardens to Parliament on December 15, 2022. And we indicated to Parliament that the full concept design report, and all related documentation, is available upon request to the Secretariat.”
The release added that despite these rumours and many others, “the Board and Management of the National Cathedral Project remain focused and committed to the completion of the National Cathedral, and would continue to do so with diligence, integrity, excellence, and accountability.”
Read the full release below:
But the Secretariat in a six-point press release denied all the allegations.
To the accusation of paying Cary Summers GH¢28 million as consultancy fees, the Secretariat explained that: “there is no contract for Cary Summers, but rather the Nehemiah group—of which Cary Summers, the founding President of the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, and one of the world’s leading experts on religious theme parks, is the CEO. And this contract is for a set of consultancy services, the most important being the coordination of work on the National Cathedral’s Bible Museum of Africa, and the Biblical Gardens of Africa. 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.”
“The work of the National Cathedral’s Bible Museum and Biblical Gardens involves some of the leading global firms, who between them have worked on some of the major museums in the world. They include: Kubik Maltbie; PRD; Cortina Productions; JMC. The payments to the Nehemiah group, therefore, is not to Cary Summers to organize a fundraiser, but to these world-class firms for their work on the Bible Museum and Biblical Gardens.”
The Secretariat said there is neither anything sinister nor hidden about the said contract which is breeding the rumours because “the National Cathedral Secretariat submitted a copy of the report of the completed Concept Design of the Bible Museum and Biblical Gardens to Parliament on December 15, 2022. And we indicated to Parliament that the full concept design report, and all related documentation, is available upon request to the Secretariat.”
The release added that despite these rumours and many others, “the Board and Management of the National Cathedral Project remain focused and committed to the completion of the National Cathedral, and would continue to do so with diligence, integrity, excellence, and accountability.”
