Table of Contents
The Government of Ghana has given the National Cathedral Secretariat the go-ahead to begin building the National Cathedral of Ghana with a seed money of GH¢25million.
In a letter that has since gone viral on social media and signed by the Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta, the Controller and Accountant’s General has been authorized to pay the money to Ribade Limited as part payment for claims that were still owed them.
“You are authorized to release the sum of GH25,000,000.00 to the National Cathedral Secretariat as additional seed money for the building of the National Cathedral as part payment of outstanding claims from RIBADE Limited,” the letter stated in part.
Background of National Cathedral
In March 2017, the Nana Addo led New Patriotic Party proposed a National Cathedral project as a way to show how the country is united, at peace, and spiritual. The $350 million multi-religious cathedral is proposed to have an auditorium to accommodate 5,000 people, chapels, and a baptistery. The project is proposed to be completed by March 2024.
Ghanaians have kicked against the President’s idea to build a National Cathedral at a time when the country was facing so many economic hard times.
However in his defense, the President has disclosed that the building of the National Cathedral is part of a promise he made to God before winning the 2016 election.
Jonathan Holm, a businessman, went to the Supreme Court to argue against the government’s decision to give the land and other help to the cathedral’s builders.
In February 2020, the court denied his request for an injunction to stop work on the land where the National Cathedral will be built.