…As THE SUN Probes Terrible Happenings In His Accra Catholic Archdiocese Including Political Bias

Most Rev. Charles Palmer-Buckle Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra Archdiocese of the Catholic Church has speedily sought solace in a certain Derby & Co his solicitors, panting for breath while directing them to write to THE SUN on the grounds that he has no answers to pregnant questions on un-Christian happenings right under his nose, that have had several Catholics wondering if Jesus Christ desired his flock to live like that under shepherd Palmer-Buckle’s stable.
About a month ago, THE SUN called the shepherd to book an appointment for an interview over allegations leveled against him and one Rev. Father Andrews Campbell, the parish priest of the Christ the King Catholic Church, Accra. However, after preliminary discussions with Bishop Palmer-Buckle he asked the newspaper to list the questions, which was readily done and submitted to him on November 28, 2011 by cock-crow time.

However days later, Derby & Co. wrote to the paper on behalf of the Bishop saying, “as much as anything on Catholic would make interesting reading, none of the questions posed by you in your letter to our client is open to any kind of discussion since it involves individuals who are entitled to their private lives”.

The solicitors continued that, “We are therefore instructed to inform you that our client cannot grant you or your tabloid any interview to discuss the issue (s) you seem to want to delve into, since these issue(s) are not open to discussions of any sort, be it now or at a later date”.
Derby & Co. went on to state that “we are again informed by our client that none of his parishioners in Christ the King Parish or elsewhere has brought to his notice any ‘allegations of mismanagement of the Accra diocese, and power struggle at the Christ the King Parish’ which allegation would interest a tabloid such as the Sun or any other newspaper and/or tabloid”.

Among the issues that have raised eye brows among a section of parishioners at Christ the King Catholic Church is that, Mr. Christian Daniel Dugan who contested for and won the chairmanship of Parish Pastoral Council was chased out and made to resign by Bishop Palmer-Buckle and Rev. Fr. Andrews Campbell, because of his decision to contest the Shai Osudoku seat on the ticket of the NPP.

When contacted, the wronged and dismissed NPP guru from the Christ the King chair, Hon. Daniel Dugan told THE SUN that, he had already petitioned the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ghana to clarify the circumstances that led to his resignation as chairman of the Christ the King and the bishops’ communiqué. He added that he was at peace with himself and prays for the bishop every day. He would not want to comment on the issue until he hears from the bishops.

What seemed to have raised tempers is that, while Dugan was being pushed out because of his decision to seek political office, evidence available to THE SUN indicates that Catholic circulars from Vatican years back and the recent Catholic Bishops Conference communiqué all endorsed and encouraged Catholic followers to seek political office in order to help change the world, while helping with the fight against legalizations of homosexuality and other anti-pro life policies on nations.

In recent times top Catholic politicians who held top positions in the Church’s administration include top NDC gurus, Mr. P.V. Obeng and Ft. Lt Tackie of the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Tema, but nobody raised a finger against them. Incidentally Rev. Fr. Andrews Campbell was a parish priest there during that era. Why he could not work with an NPP guru in Christ the King and had to make the bishop dismiss Hon. Dugan is a question which the bishop could best answer if he had granted The Sun audience.

Another issue that requires immediate attention is the handling of funds at the Christ the King Parish, as well as an Archdiocesan Development Fund where all churches were levied according to their financial strength. The Fund was to take care of the establishment of chapels and mission houses in the rural parts of the Archdiocese, which cover the whole of the Greater Accra region and parts of the Volta region on the southern banks of the Volta River.

As a result, a sort of a decree was issued out that no church in the archdiocese should expand, but rather use the money to develop rural parishes. However, St. Dominic Catholic Church in Dawenya, which looks like a carpentry shop and Tsumkpo Catholic church near Aveyime, which has a large membership, still hold church services in a classroom with the Stations of the Cross written in chalk. This has left the rural churches crying for development yet, the promised funds have not been flowing.

Despite the huge resources realized from the exercises, nothing seems to be working in the right direction as the churches still remain in a deplorable state.

THE SUN had wanted Bishop Palmer-Buckle to speak to the seven-point questions below yet, he chose to hide behind those people in black and white gowns perhaps believing that he is covered forever, from even the Lord’s judgment on Judgment Day:

Below are a list of the seven-point questions Bishop Palmer-Buckle will have to answer if not on earth to THE SUN, then some day in presence of the Lord, his heavenly angels and all humanity.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

THE SUN is investigating into allegations of mismanagement of the Accra diocese and power struggle at the Christ the King Parish that led to the dismissal or relieve of post of a certain Daniel Dugan as chairman of the Parish Council. In order to write an informed article, we would be grateful if you could react to the questions below.

1. How true is it that you teamed up with Rev. Fr. Campbell to boot out Mr. Daniel Dugan as chairman of the Christ the King Parish Pastoral Council months after he had been elected into office?
2. Can you educate us as to what led to the dismissal of Dugan from office?
3. How do you reconcile the Catholic Bishops Conference’s communiqué that urged Catholic followers to actively involve themselves in politics, and the decision to relieve Mr. Dugan as chairman of the Parish Council?
4. It is alleged that you have used part of the levy meant for the development of the rural Accra churches to acquire a magnificent house located at Abokobi. How true is this allegation?
5. Our visits to most rural Accra churches have left much to be desired in terms of infrastructural development. However, members say in 2009, the Accra archdiocese raised millions of Ghana cedis from the levy purposely for rural Accra churches’ development. Can you educate us on the beneficiary churches and how the funds were disbursed?
6. Our information is that there is gross over-bloating of the cost of expenditure on the development projects being undertaken at the Christ the King Parish by Rev. Fr. Campbell. Are you aware of this development?

With the sudden and not-too-clear explanation about the resignation of Most Rev. Martin Darko of the Catholic Sekondi-Takoradi diocese, it seems the veil covering Archbishop Palmer Buckle is about to be removed to reveal the unchristian nature under his direct participation and watch…Please stay tuned.

FURORE OVER ILLEGAL FUEL PRICE ADDITION

Development Data (DD) a policy Research and advocacy group that recently won a landmark case against the National Petroleum Authority(NPA) and the government over questionable pricing of fuel, has called for respect of the decision of the court of the land.
“We have taken note of Government’s statement on the abolishing of illegal fuel price
margins by the High Court. The statement is most unfortunate. In particular, the
argument by Government that the removal of the illegal price top-ups will lead to
higher fuel prices is deceitful”, the statement said.
For the benefit of the public, “we quote the petroleum pricing formula made pursuant to the National Petroleum Authority Act, 2005 (Act 691):
i. CIF = Cost (FOB) + Insurance + Freight
ii. Related Charges = Off-loading cost + In-transit losses +
Inspection + L/C cost + Financial costs +
Storage cost + In-plant losses +
Rack loading cost + Operating margin
iii. Ex-refinery Price = CIF + Related Charges
iv. Ex-pump Price = Ex-refinery Price + Gov’t taxes and levies
+ Distribution margins
“The ex-pump price is the price at which the public buy fuel at the filling station. It is important to point out that, this formula was stated in court by plaintiffs and accepted
by both Tema Oil Refinery and National Petroleum Authority”, the statement said.
Per the formula at current crude oil price of (US$107.71 per barrel) and exchange rate
of GH¢1.61 per US dollar, a gallon of diesel for example should be sold at GH¢5.96 at
the filling station.
According to DD, the consumers were buying a gallon of diesel at GH¢6.91 because the NPA has inserted an “ex-refinery differential” of 95 GHp per gallon.
“It is this illegal price top-up that has been abolished by the High Court. The refusal by
government and the NPA to comply with the court’s ruling on the grounds that, it will lead to high fuel prices is mischievous, preposterous and disgraceful. It is a set back to the rule of law”, a statement signed by Joshua Quashigah-Sowu Research Director for DD pointed out.
The research group noted that currently there is no subsidy on the sale of fuel in Ghana, and the threat by government to remove subsidies from fuel prices in the face of the court ruling was laughable.
“We challenge government to publish the full details of current fuel price computations. We further challenge government to publish the statement of account on the ex-refinery differential accounts,” Development Data appealed,
The statement called on the NPA and government to stop hiding behind the option of a court appeal to perpetuate what the group said was an illegal extortion abolished by a court of the land.
“We respectfully call on civil society, especially the institutions with representation on the NPA governing board, namely, the Petroleum Workers Union, the Chamber of
Commerce, and the Chamber of Mines to take keen interest in the workings of the NPA
to ensure that the rule of law and the public interest are protected,” the statement said.