Article from: Art News
Last week, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a member of a minority party in Ghana’s Parliament, called for Adjaye to refund the $21.4 million fee his firm was paid for the construction of the National Cathedral in Accra. Ablakwa claims that the fee was not approved by Parliament.
The 10.5 percent design fee for Adjaye’s team, which includes 14 consultants, is below the Ghanaian government’s recommended rate of 16.5 percent.
Construction on the cathedral has been paused since March. Ablakwa, a politician for the National Democratic Congress, the center-left minority party in Ghana’s Parliament, has framed his concerns about the cathedral in relation to an alleged lack of financial transparency from Nana Akufo-Addo, the country’s president, who has largely dismissed Ablakwa’s recent statements.
Akufo-Addo is a member of the centre-right New Patriotic Party that currently holds a majority in Parliament. Ablakwa said that, were the National Democratic Congress to assume a majority in Parliament, it would formally demand Adjaye to repay his fee to the government.
A representative for Adjaye Associates did not respond to a request for comment. The National Cathedral of Ghana issued a lengthy statement defending the project and its funding, but it did not mention Adjaye.
Ever since designs for the National Cathedral were announced in 2018, the project has faced public suspicion because of the costs associated with it. According to recent estimates supplied by members of Ghana’s government, the National Cathedral will have required around $1 billion by the time it is completed.
Members of the New Patriotic Party in Ghana seemed to echo Okeke-Agulu’s claims in their defenses last week of Adjaye, Akufo-Addo, and the National Cathedral project.
Others have claimed that Adjaye’s positive reputation and architectural prowess should not necessarily be called into play when questioning the National Cathedral’s funding.
Update, 6/28/22, 9:40 a.m.: This article has been updated to include mention of the Ghanaian government’s recommended design fee.
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Article from: Art News
