President John Dramani Mahama has said taxpayers’ money should not be used to fund the construction of a National Cathedral, arguing that the Christian community has the capacity to mobilise the resources needed to complete the project.
He said although he had no objection to Ghana having a National Cathedral, the project should not be financed with public funds because it originated as a personal pledge by former President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Speaking during his Resetting Ghana Tour of the Upper West Region on Saturday, September 12, President Mahama said the National Cathedral was not a national policy inherited from the previous administration.
“Projects and policies we inherited, we have continued the only one is the National Cathedral. But that was not a national policy. It was a personal pledge by the former president. It was a personal pledge by the former president to God,” he said.
President Mahama maintained that the project should instead be funded through contributions from Christians in Ghana and other parts of the world.
He argued that Ghana’s large Christian population could provide sufficient funding for the construction through collective contributions.
“How many Christians are in this country? If we all pay a thousand cedis each, we should be able to construct a National Cathedral,” he stated.
He also raised concerns about the proposed location, noting that the site is surrounded by major public facilities, including Parliament, the Accra International Conference Centre, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and the National Theatre.
According to him, constructing another major facility in the area could further constrain the space available for national ceremonies.
President Mahama also criticised the demolition of several properties to make way for the project, including 10 judges’ residences, the residence of the Malian Ambassador and the old passport office.
The President further disclosed that a forensic audit into expenditure on the National Cathedral project had been completed and was currently with the Attorney-General.
He said the audit covers nearly $90 million spent on the project and would be made available to the Christian Council of Ghana to enable it to scrutinise how the funds were used.
“The forensic audit is ready; it’s with the Attorney General, and I’ll make a copy of it available to the Christian Council so that they can look at the processes of what went into the expenditure of the $90 million,” he said.
President Mahama said the findings could help stakeholders determine whether corrective action was required as discussions on the future of the project continued.
His comments come a day after the Christian Council of Ghana announced the formation of a technical committee made up of representatives from various Christian groupings to explore ways to revive the stalled National Cathedral project.
The committee has been given one month to develop a practical funding model and make recommendations on the proposed location and other outstanding issues.
