What is so special about this National Cathedral Project?
In recent times, the most trending news on social media platforms and the traditional news space, is on the National Cathedral Project being embarked upon by the government cum private partnership in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. Hardly a day passes, without hearing something controversial on this topical issue, either on our traditional airwaves or in the print media.
QUESTIONS FROM GHANAIANS ABOUT THE CATHEDRAL PROJECT
Some of the contentious questions people are asking about this particular project are; what is so special about this so-called national cathedral in the midst of the present economic difficulties? What at all is in this national cathedral project which has been hidden from Ghanaians? Why is the government adamant and so committed to this project in spite of numerous calls from Ghanaians to it to tackle pressing issues that will put the economy back on track? What significant benefit is the country and for that matter, the people are going to derive from this national cathedral? Is this project meant to benefit the government or any single individual? Who is behind this particular project and where is the funding coming from? Is it a state or private sponsored project? Why is it that other social intervention programmes such as the National School Feeding Programme (NSFP), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) project are all in arrears, yet we want to spend huge funds on this national cathedral project?
GHANAIANS’ ANXIETY ABOUT THE CATHEDRAL PROJECT
These and many other questions are agitating the minds of millions of Ghanaians most of whom are Christians alright but they feel that the present circumstance in which people find it difficult to make ends meet, does not merit the building of a national cathedral at the expense of their poverty and sufferings. However, what the government is saying is that the building of a national cathedral is of necessity and paramount and would, therefore, not listen to the protest by the people on whose mandates they came to power. That is interesting, indeed!
FINANCE MINISTER’S DEFENCE FOR THE PROJECT
Our Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, keeps defending the project saying it is a potential investment which would pay off in the future. Instead, he asked those who are opposing the project to be measured in their criticisms. He says government was mindful of taxpayers’ money being used to support the building of the national cathedral and was strategising to ensure that money pumped into the construction is recouped within the shortest possible time after construction.
To him, the current economic challenges should not deter the state from fulfilling its responsibility to build a monument that has huge investment potential. The cheek of it is that the Minister threw back his annoyance at Ghanaians on Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), the state broadcaster last Sunday for opposing the construction of the project. Hear him; “At any point in time when these buildings were built in Europe, was it ever the right time? How do we fund it will become the question? Is the Executive mindful of the current situation? We shouldn’t snuff out our religiousness or spirituality because we are poor. The Lord will understand if we put our widow’s mite in there”.
GHANAIANS ANXIOUS TO KNOW INVESTMENT POTENTIALS IN THIS PROJECT
The Finance Minister’s outburst on the state broadcaster on the opposition of this project is neither here nor there. Ghanaians will ask the minister; what kind of investment potential can they derive from this cathedral and in any case where will that benefits go to? Is it into people’s pocket or where? Will the benefits be shared to people who contributed to the fund towards the project? It is a fact that if the minister and his family are suffering like most Ghanaians who are finding it difficult to survive the present economic hardships in the country, he would have minded his choice of words, language and refrained from telling Ghanaians that they should not snuff out our religiousness or spirituality because they are poor.
In any case, how can the government release a colossal amount of GHc 25 million to the cathedral project as an additional seed money when projects meant to mitigate the hardships of most Ghanaians and the deprived communities are in huge arrears. That is unheard of in a sound democratic governance. Ghanaians are, indeed, not comfortable with the show of arrogance on the part of some of our leaders. They forget that we put them where they are through our thumbs.
COMPARING OURSELVES WITH OTHER ADVANCED NATIONS
Indeed, Ghana is a purely religious country with more than half of the population, 71.2 per cent forming the Christian community with about one-fifth making the Muslim movement and a small segment adhering to the traditional indigenous religions. Religious tolerance in Ghana is very high but that does not prevent the people from making the right choices and speaking their minds in times of difficulties and economic hardship. No right thinking person in Ghana will like to suffer while money meant to alleviate their sufferings are channelled to projects that are of less significance to the economic survival. All things being equal, Ghanaians will wholeheartedly embrace this cathedral project and contribute their quota towards its success, but that is not the case. In other jurisdictions such as United States of America and the United Kingdom among others, where they have these cathedrals in existence, they do not experience hardships like the way we do and, therefore, the system is smooth and friendly and can accommodate such project easily. There is no way we can compare ourselves with others who have put up cathedrals because their mode of financing some of these projects are entirely different from ours.
PROJECT LAUDABLE BUT NOT RELEVANT UNDER PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCE
This National Cathedral project is by all intents and purposes laudable not in dispute in any way because it is a planned inter-denominational Christian cathedral with a baptistery, a 5,000-seating capacity, two level auditorium, a grand central hall, music school, choir rehearsal, art gallery, shop as well as multi use spaces. We are told that aside all these facilities in the cathedral, it will serve also as the home to Africa’s first Bible Museum and Documentation Centre dedicated to Christianity and nation building in Ghana.
This ambitious project was an idea floated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as part of Ghana’s 60th anniversary celebration and the design was unveiled by him in March 2018. Indeed, the beautiful design by David Adjaye and Associates, reflects the art and culture of Ghanaian ethnic groups, with the high pitched and staggered roof reminiscent of an Akan inspired architecture.
LET’S TREAD CAUTIOUSLY WITH THIS PROJECT
The cathedral project and its entire architecture are laudable initiative by the government which cannot be wished away. It portrays the level of Christian values in this country and how the people are anxious to worship the Almighty God with all their heart and might. However, the present economic circumstance, to many Ghanaians mostly the Christian community, does not encourage the construction of this project now using state resources. Ghanaians have raised their voices and if the government claims it is a listening one as it made us to understand at the initial stages, it can hold on to the project and bring it back at another time when the economy improves and on a sound footing. After all, there are quite a number of private auditoriums put up by some of the well-established religious leaders in our country which we can rely on for the meantime for both public and private engagements in addition to our well established various conference halls in Accra and elsewhere.
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By Charles Neequaye
