Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Ghana’s government will investigate controversial plans to build a $400m (£330m) national cathedral, new President John Mahama has said.
Pressure has mounted on the authorities to cancel the project, and it has divided opinion in a country experiencing an economic crisis.
Former President Nana Akufo-Addo, who voted his party into the December election, pledged to build the cathedral after he credited God for his party’s success in 2016.
Akufo-Addo’s government said the cathedral would be privately funded, but $58 million of taxpayers’ money has so far been spent on the project.
There is nothing to show for this sum other than a giant crater on valuable land in central Accra, formerly occupied by state buildings, judges’ houses and financial firms.
Ghana is a deeply religious country where 70% of the people are Christians.
The national cathedral of Ghana was conceived as a sacred space for all Christians where national religious services could be held. It also wants to have a Bible museum and a national conference center.
At the thanksgiving ceremony on Sunday, Mahama said: “The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) directed the government to audit the project and investigate any misuse of public funds. We would soon activate that investigation into the project.”
However, he did not rule out finishing the cathedral.
“We can reach a more reasonable figure for such a project and we can get financing for it from everyone,” he said.
“Such rethinking of this project may also include changing the current site chosen for the project. The project must be achieved at a reasonable cost, in the situation Ghana is in, it does not make sense to get a project. A whopping amount of $400 million.”
On Monday, new Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson hinted that public money would not be used for the project, telling a parliamentary committee that the government would “work towards wasteful spending and the national cathedral project is one of them”.
Ghana has been hit by its worst economic crisis in a generation and last year received a $3 billion (£2.5 billion) bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The rate at which the price of goods is rising, or inflation, has improved significantly since the bailout, but is still high at 23.8%.
Work on the cathedral was halted after contractors wrote to the government saying they did not want to continue due to lack of payment.
Before the December elections, Mahama announced that if he became president, he would launch an investigation into the project and decide whether or not to proceed with it.
But while his NDC party was in opposition, his caucus in parliament called on Akuffo-Addo to “totally terminate the project contract”.
NDC Member of Parliament Kwabena Mintah Akandoh asked, “Where is the wisdom in building a cathedral when there are more pressing needs in the country in sectors like health and education?
“I don’t think any sane person expects John Mahama to build a cathedral. People are dying of cholera and other diseases, why focus on a cathedral?”
The building has raised concerns among senior clergy involved in the project.
Five members of the cathedral’s board of directors have resigned, demanding that the government halt the project and conduct an audit.
