The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has urged the clergy to work together with the government to move forward with the construction of the National Cathedral project, which has been a topic of controversy. During a meeting with the clergy in the Greater Accra Region, Dr. Bawumia highlighted the significance of the project for Ghana.
He stressed the need for the church to unite and engage with the government to explore ways to secure private resources to complete the project. “The church has to come together and meet the government so that we talk about the way forward. The church must come together and let the government know the best way forward on how we can get private resources to help us complete the National Cathedral,” he said on Monday.
Dr Bawumia expressed optimism that a collective effort can find a solution, saying “if we all come together, we will figure it out.” “I think if we all come together we will figure it out because we cannot leave it where it is,” he added.
Background
The building of the Cathedral is in fulfilment of a pledge President Akufo-Addo claimed to have made to God before winning the 2016 elections. The 5,000-seater auditorium Cathedral project will also bequeath to the country a gracious national park for all Ghanaians, bring new skills, technology and jobs to the country and act as a beacon to national, regional and international tourists.
In 2021, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta announced that the government will commission the ongoing National Cathedral project on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, but that did not happen as work on the project has stalled with millions of dollars already spent on it.
Aside from the lack of funds to continue the project, the project’s construction has been embroiled in a lot of controversy with the National Cathedral Secretariat accused of misapplying the funds.
A member of the board of the project, Rev. Kusi Boateng has been dragged to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to be investigated over an alleged conflict of interest, including possession of multiple identities and other alleged criminal dealings.
The petitioner, MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, alleged among other things that there was a transfer of GH¢2.6 million from the National Cathedral Secretariat to JNS Talent Centre Limited owned by Rev. Kusi Boateng under a secondary identity – Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.
Mr Ablakwa said the petition was seeking to invoke the mandate of CHRAJ under Article 218 of the 1992 Constitution to investigate the “odious conflict of interest” with regard to Rev. Boateng’s position on the National Cathedral board as he “literally paid his own company a staggering GH¢2.6 million for no work done”.
By: Ama Cromwell
