President John Mahama says the Christian community in Ghana has the capacity to finance the construction of a National Cathedral without relying on taxpayers’ money.
He argued that if Christians across the country contributed GH¢1,000 each towards the project, they could raise sufficient resources to construct the facility.
Speaking at a citizens’ engagement during his tour of the Upper West Region, President Mahama said he had no objection to the construction of a National Cathedral but maintained that public funds should not be used to finance it.
“I mean, how many Christians are in this country? If we all pay 1,000 cedis each, we should be able to construct a national cathedral,” he said.
He said Christian groups should therefore take the lead in mobilising the resources required to complete the project.
“My second problem was that we shouldn’t use taxpayers’ money,” he added.
President Mahama also raised concerns about the location of the project, arguing that the site was already surrounded by major public institutions and facilities.
Read Also: Taxpayers’ money shouldn’t fund National Cathedral; Christians can contribute towards it – Mahama
He cited Parliament, the International Conference Centre, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and the National Theatre as some of the major facilities in the area.
“My principle has always been that the location has been a problem,” he said.
“So normally during ceremonies, you have the stadium not far, and that’s the way we used to go to Black Star Square. So if you go and put this major thing there again, it will constrict that whole area,” he added.
The President further criticised the demolition of properties to make way for the cathedral, including 10 judges’ residences, the residence of the Malian Ambassador and the old passport office.
“My problem was also that the amount of destruction we had to cause to clear the area; broke 10 judges’ residences.
“We broke the Malian Ambassador’s residence. Up to now, we’ve not replaced it. And several other properties, the old passport office, all of them were demolished to make way for a national cathedral,” he said.
President Mahama stressed that his position should not be interpreted as opposition to the construction of a National Cathedral.
“I am a Christian myself. I have nothing against having a national cathedral,” he said.
He also disclosed that a forensic audit of the project had been completed and was currently with the Attorney General.
According to him, a copy of the audit would be made available to the Christian Council to enable it to examine how almost $90 million had been spent on the project and determine whether corrective action was necessary.
“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 dollars, so that if there’s any corrective action, we can take it together,” he said.
His comments come after the Christian Council of Ghana announced on Friday, September 11, that it had constituted a technical committee comprising representatives from various Christian groupings to explore ways of reviving the stalled project.
The committee has one month to develop a practical funding model and make recommendations on the proposed location and other outstanding issues.
President Mahama also maintained that, unlike other projects and policies inherited from previous administrations which he has pledged to continue where they are in the public interest, the National Cathedral does not fall into that category.
He said the project was a personal pledge made by former President Nana Akufo-Addo rather than a government policy.
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