If Ghana isn’t broke, why can’t the National Cathedral be funded?

President Nana Akufo-Addo recently claimed that Ghana is not broke in his final State of the Nation Address, highlighting the nation’s economic stability and gross international reserves worth $8 billion. Franklin Cudjoe, the founder of IMANI Africa, has strongly criticized this claim.

“Ghana is not broke, contrary to what the propagandists are saying,” President Akufo-Addo said during his speech on January 3, 2025, in response to persistent worries over the country’s economic difficulties. We are turning over a nation with $8 billion in gross international reserves. The President stressed the erroneous and misleading nature of the financial collapse assertions.

Cudjoe, however, has disputed the President’s claims, asking why, if the economy is solid, Ghana is now seeking financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and why the government is finding it difficult to finance the contentious National Cathedral project.

On Saturday, January 4, Cudjoe replied on social media: “Well, Nana Addo says Ghana isn’t broke.” Yes, while disgusting debts mount, residents who have been pummeled by the life-damaging effects of the careless and rudderless economic management continue to pay taxes to finance costly government experiments, such as providing food and clothing for the administration and its many hangers-on.

“If we aren’t broke, why are we at the IMF and why can’t the Cathedral be funded from covert deductions from the public purse?” Cudjoe said. His remarks illuminated persistent annoyances with the distribution of public finances, especially with regard to the building of the National Cathedral, a controversial project during Akufo-Addo’s presidency.

The National Cathedral project, which aims to become a national religious and heritage landmark, has come under fire for being extremely expensive, especially at a time when Ghanaians are struggling financially. The issue has sparked discussion over the government’s priorities and whether such a large-scale project is warranted given the country’s financial limitations.

Some members of the public have voiced worries about government spending priorities and have responded favorably to Cudjoe’s criticism, calling for a shift in emphasis to more pressing problems like infrastructure development and poverty reduction. The comments are made at a time when the government is still battling issues including inflation, a large national debt, and unstable economic conditions, all of which have been made worse by the nation’s recent bailout requests to the IMF.

Source: Modern Ghana