Former President, John Dramani Mahama has said the construction of the National Cathedral can longer be a top priority, given the existing economic crisis in the country.
“The public funding of the national cathedral, particularly at this time, must stop”, the former President said.
John Mahama was delivering a speech themed, ‘Building the Ghana we want’ at the University of Professional Studies, Accra on Thursday, October 27, 2022.
The country’s economy has been in crisis in recent weeks leading to the increase of goods and services almost every day as the cedis keeps depreciating.
John Mahama whilst referring to his Christian values emphasized that resources should rather be directed to revive the falling economy.
He added that funds already pumped into the construction works should also be subjected to value for money audit.
“Being a Christian myself, and deeply appreciative of the centrality of God in nation building, I agree with most Ghanaians who believe that the project cannot constitute a top priority of government at this moment, warranting further injection of scarce public funds,” the former president added.
Meanwhile, a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral project, Rev. Joyce Aryee, said Ghana’s economic crisis will not stop donations to the project.
At a press conference to announce a call centre for Ghanaians to seek answers on the project such as how to make donations, Rev. Aryee, said she did not expect the economic hardship to persist in the long term.
As of June 2022, various church denominations had contributed GH¢2.21 million towards the construction.
