Some NDC Members of Parliament, on March 6, went to the premises of the National Cathedral to commission the unfinished project.
This was to highlight the government’s failure when it comes to the controversial project.
Addressing the press, the MP for North Tongu and his colleagues asked government to account for the project after failing to complete the cathedral as the then Finance Minister promised in 2021.
Describing the project as the most expensive pit in the world, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said “we are demanding full accountability of what happened to our $58,141,509.52. We also want to know why the contractors abandoned this project for lack of payment two years ago.”
He added that “we are demanding a comprehensive report on how much it has cost the state to replace and compensate some owners of demolished properties and how much is still outstanding, considering that aggrieved demolished property owners such as Waterstone Realty have resorted to the court.”
Mr Ablakwa also called for the immediate termination of the contract saying that the longer the project remains suspended the greater the cost to the taxpayer.
“We have to pay, there is a cost to this abandonment. We have to pay for the extension of time, we have to pay for standing time, and we also have to pay for abortive and real work costs due to the main contractor suspension,” he said.
Among other things, the MPs also demanded that “the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral should be dissolved without delay. We also demand that the National Cathedral Secretariat should be immediately closed. So far this secretariat has received a staggering GHS225,962,500 it is a very expensive secretariat.”
The National Cathedral project, initiated by the government, has been a subject of debate and controversy due to its cost and use of state resources.
In July 2021, the then Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta announced that the government will commission the ongoing National Cathedral project on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
The Minister said the date on which Ghana marks its 67th Independence Day will be used to commission the interdenominational sacred space for the nation.
However, work on the National Cathedral has barely progressed since then.
In December 2023, Mr Ofori-Atta suggested a reevaluation of discussions on the National Cathedral's construction, emphasising its potential to drive economic growth.
Speaking at the Ghana Tourism Investment Summit 2023, at the Labadi Beach Hotel, he said the edifice was a strategic investment to boost the nation’s tourism sector.
He explained that the cathedral could easily become a pilgrimage destination for millions of Christians across Africa, attracting visitors who could spend an average of $3,000 each.
This, he believed, could result in substantial economic benefits for Ghana.
“As we look at something like the Cathedral that has economic benefits beyond what we see…In Africa, we have some 600 million people who are Christians so imagine Ghana as the new Jerusalem and these 600 million people floating through with $3,000 to spend, it is a very different reality.”
Ofori-Atta urged for a more constructive approach to the ongoing debates and controversies surrounding the cathedral project.
He suggested that the government carefully consider the cathedral’s potential contribution to Ghana's economic development.
Credit: myjoyonline.com