Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has disclosed that the forensic audit of the National Cathedral project is approaching its final stages, with audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) having already undertaken extensive work.

Dr Ayine made this known while speaking to journalists during the Government Accountability Series on Monday, December 22. He explained that the decision to commission the forensic audit followed a presidential directive, after consultations involving his office, the Auditor-General, and the Minister for Finance.

According to him, the consensus from those engagements was the need for swift action to independently examine the project’s finances.

“Following our discussions, including further engagements at the Ministry of Finance, it was agreed that a private firm should be urgently engaged to carry out the forensic audit,” Dr Ayine noted.

He was keen to clarify that the Attorney-General’s Department does not have the authority to procure non-legal services, stressing that commissioning a forensic audit falls outside his official remit.

“My office does not procure forensic audits. Where I am involved in procurement, it is strictly for legal services. There is no precedent for an Attorney-General engaging non-legal service providers,” he explained.

Dr Ayine further indicated that because the exercise is a financial audit conducted under the oversight of the Auditor-General, the Minister for Finance instructed the Auditor-General to engage an independent audit firm. This process ultimately led to PwC being selected for the task.

Providing an update on the progress of the work, Dr Ayine said the auditors are close to wrapping up the assignment.

“Just last week, PwC formally wrote to my office requesting a meeting to clarify certain matters relevant to their findings. They have already carried out substantial work and are now nearing the conclusion of the audit,” he stated.