News circulating on social media platform indicate that two emi­nent clergymen and members of the Board of trustees of the contro­versial National Cathedral project have called for its immediate suspen­sion and audit.

The two prominent personalities, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams and Reverend Eastwood Anaba, were quoted to have said that their call was based on the controversies sur­rounding the project.

According to them, the suspension would pave the way for transparency and accountability to be provided to the Ghanaian people. In a memo sent to the Board of Trustees on Monday, January 23, and sighted by My JoyOnline.com, the two persons called for an independent audit into the expenditures of the project. They noted that the auditors must be one that was nationally recognised.

CONCERNS OF TWO CLERGYMEN

Hear the two respected clergymen in the excerpts of the memo: “That in the spirit and cause of transparen­cy and accountability to the Ghanaian people, the current Board of Trust­ees of the National Cathedral shall appoint an independent, nationally recognised accounting firm to audit all public funds contributed to and spent by the National cathedral. Auditors will also audit the overall cost of the project. The appointment of an auditor, shall take place before the deferment of activities of the Board of Trustees”.

The two eminent and respectable pastors were also quoted to have said that the national cathedral project should not continue until the eco­nomic conditions in the country are improved. According to them, the current activities advancing to the construction of the project should be deferred until the atmospheric conditions in Ghana are improved and the audit of the cathedral account is done.

REASONS BEHIND BISHOP HEWARD-MILLS RESIGNATION

In the midst of controversies, the founder of the Lighthouse Chapel International, Bishop Dag Heward- Mills resigned from the Cathedral’s Board of Trustees in August 2022. In so doing the eminent and revered pastor, did not give specific reason for his resignation, which gave room for Ghanaians to speculate and give their own conjectures about his unilateral decision to resign. However, his resig­nation letter which appeared to have been leaked recently, attributed his exit to unresolved concerns about the cost of the National cathedral project and other pertinent issues.

The National Cathedral Project spearheaded by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, remains one of the controversial national public issues since the project was announced by the President some years back.

Apart from the accountability issues which were raised by the Minority caucus in Parliament, there have been many concerns raised by the majority of Ghanaians about the relevance of the project, especially at this particu­lar time when the country is in dire economic crisis.

CONTROVERSY OVER THE CATHEDRAL PROJ­ECT

Many were those who thought that even though the idea for the construc­tion of this edifice was not entirely bad and that all things being equal, the project can go on unin­terrupted, they felt that it was so strange that while the economic hardships were so severe and unbearable, moneys are being channeled into the construction of this project in the face of the pres­ent economic challenges.

Most of the country’s health facil­ities are in poor state with shortage of essential drugs and life- saving equipment such as oxygen, labora­tory equipment, hospital beds, drips among others.

Besides, children are squatting and writing on bare floors due to lack of classrooms furniture, while school children are studying under very difficult and terrible conditions with no classroom accommodation, yet the country is spending huge sums of money to build a cathedral to serve as a monument for one particular person.

OKUDZETO ABLAKWA’S ARGU­MENT

Honourable Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Constituency in the Volta Region and the outspoken legislature, has been a regular advocate against the project since the announcement by the government to undertake the project.

His argument is sim­ply that Ghana with its current needs and ailing economy does not need a national cathedral. He opined that funds that was being used for that project could be channeled into improv­ing the lives and living conditions of Ghanaians. Currently he has gone to the Commission on Hu­man Rights and Adminis­trative Justice (CHRAJ), challenging some of the key people against cer­tain irregularities within the project.

Indeed, this partic­ular cathedral project, is an issue that has attracted a lot of public criticism and condemnations whatsoever. Members of the Board of Trustees, mostly from the clergy have initially unanimously support­ed the idea for the construction of this cathedral since it falls within their domain and nobody can fault them since they are entitled to their opinions.

They have initially turned blind eye to the critics believing that they are anti-Christ and, would not like the house of God to be built. But that should not be the case at all in the midst of the current economic turmoil which has persuaded the country to run to the International Monetary Fund to seek a bailout for the economy which is sick and in comma.

GHANA’S CHRISTIANITY POPULA­TION

Ghana is a country in which Chris­tianity has dominated the population with 71.3 percent being member of various Christian denominations, according to the National Population Census held in 2021. It means the majority of the people subscribed to Christianity and believe in the teach­ings of the Almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth.

However, in a situation in which we find ourselves at this particular point in time, we cannot channel resources into a project that will not inure to the total benefit of the people and the good Lord Himself understands that.

We only hope and pray that when the economy stabilises and we are in the position to accommodate a proj­ect such as a national cathedral, we can then take an advantage of that and the people will give their fullest support to it and even contribute towards its construction.

THE VOICES OF OUR CLERGYMEN

It is so refreshing that some of the eminent clergymen in the society who happen to be members of the Nation­al Trustee of the National Cathedral has been spoken to the Almighty God to hasten slowly in this particular project in view of our present circum­stance and also to ensure the fullest accountability of the investment made so far in this project. That is indeed, heartwarming and welcoming news and we hope other members will follow the shining example.

We also hope that the President being a listening head of state, will accommodate the concerns of the majority of Ghanaians and hold on to the project for now, as we find ways to bring the economy back on track.

Nobody is against the construction of a place for religious activities, but it has to be done when our priorities are right. Ghanaians cannot sacri­fice their impoverished, poverty and sufferings at the expense of a nation­al cathedral which has no bearing on their living conditions whatsoever.

The government must face facts and do things that are beneficial and inure to the progress of our dear country. Anything short of that, will not be tolerated by the majority of people who find themselves in abject poverty and find it difficult to make ends meet.

Contact email/WhatsApp of au­thor:

ataani2000@yahoo.com

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By Charles Neequaye