By Francis Kobena Tandoh
The National Cathedral project is not abandoned and will be completed; this is according to a statement released here by the National Cathedral of Ghana on Wednesday.
The comment from the National Cathedral of Ghana comes on the back of media reports that the new administration intends to convert the cathedral into a cultural convention centre.
According to the statement signed by Paul Opoku-Mensah, PhD, Executive Director for the National Cathedral of Ghana, the Board has not received any official communication from the Presidency to confirm or deny the rumour.
The board emphasized that an audit of the project by Deloitte and Touche indicated that state funds injected into the project were put to judicious use.
“The audit of the National Cathedral accounts by Deloitte and Touche confirms that all state funds to the project are accounted for, disbursements are based on agreements and/or contracts, and payments were made for actual work done. The National Cathedral is therefore not an abandoned project,” read the statement.
The statement stated categorically that a process for the completion of the project is currently under discussion.
“Currently, a pathway to the completion of the project through a process of depoliticization, statutory accountability, and the development of a state-church-society partnership to raise the needed financing is under discussion,” added the statement.
The board assured the public that it remains fully committed to the process and to “the completion of this critical infrastructure, which will serve as an interdenominational sacred space and a family house.”
The National Cathedral project, which began in 2021 by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration, was intended to provide a sacred infrastructure for the formal religious activities of the state, including state funerals and national thanksgiving services.
The site for the construction was gifted by the state to the National Cathedral of Ghana. The designs for the cathedral, the Bible Museum, the Biblical Garden, and the economic engine—comprising 10 revenue streams, including a 350-seat restaurant, banquet hall, conference hall, and library—have all been completed based on the layout specifications of the site.
Preparatory works on the land have all been completed, and with the architectural and design work for the Cathedral and Bible Museum also completed, 8 percent of construction is done.
The suspension of construction was due largely to lack of funds, as well as politicization and vilification of the project, which affected fundraising. Enditem
Source: Ghana Eye Report
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