Shocking! National Cathedral Costs Ghc3.5billion-More Than Budget of 13 Ministries Combined!

In a rather unconscionable waste of public funds, the Akufo-Addo government is spending over US$ 450 million of taxpayers’ funds on the National Cathedral, aka Cathedral of Lies. This amount is more than what was budgeted for more than 13 government ministries in 2022.

This includes the US$ 100 million land that the cathedral will be built on, over US$ 21 million paid to the architect of the project, Sir David Adjaye, some US$ 100 million or so as the cost of relocating the Judicial Training Centre and other government offices and bungalows pulled down for the cathedral, some US$ 100 million compensations to the landowners and some US$ 100 million that the government is clandestinely pushing into the project as seed capital.

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has calculated the total cost to Ghanaian taxpayers at a staggering US$ 450 million.

This amount is more than the combined 2022 budget of the following government ministries: the Ministries of Finance, Local Government, Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Energy, Fisheries, Works and Housing, Roads and Highways, Tourism, Transportation, Sanitation, Science and Technology, Lands and Natural Resources, etc.,

The latest inexplicable move by the Akufo Addo government is that it is begging the World Bank for a US$ 50 million loan to construct a new Judicial Training School after it pulled down the existing one at Ridge to make way for the obnoxious National Cathedral.

“As the Akufo-Addo cathedral scandal gets more putrefying — adding to the list of what government is refusing to tell Ghanaians is the full cost of compensation for demolished properties… we estimate not less than US$100million (about GHS800million) would be used as compensation for all affected. This includes the cost of relocating the Malian Ambassador’s Residence to Airport Residential, outstanding payments to private business owners such as Waterstone Realty Ltd and ComSys Ghana Ltd, and the cost of constructing a new Judicial Training Institute at the proposed Cocoa Affairs Court land,” Hon. Ablakwa wrote on Facebook.

He revealed that the “Government and the Chief Justice are currently desperately looking for a US$ 50 million loan to construct a new Judicial Service Training Institute after Ghana’s reputable judicial training institute was razed to the ground to pave way for the construction of the national cathedral. Their negotiations with the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development have broken down, and they have now approached the World Bank.”

He urged Ghanaians therefore to remember to add the extra US$100million that has so far not been added to the US$350million that the government has confirmed is going into the cathedral project.

“So one needs to always remember to add US$100million to the latest figure of US$350million as the real cathedral cost. A rather costly US$450million (GHS3.5billion) personal presidential pledge to God.”

According to the North Tongu MP, “If this was a functioning democracy, we the people should have first been engaged whether this is how we will want our government to spend a colossal GHS3.5billion, particularly during this period of debilitating economic crisis typified by a cost of a living nightmare.”

Meanwhile, responding to a 7-page statement put out by the National cathedral secretariat, to justify its decision, Ablakwa said it only confirmed all that he has been saying so far.

“And as for that 7-page statement issued by the National Cathedral Secretariat, I can only thank them for confirming all the information I have put out so far, and for effectively justifying the national outrage which has only further escalated our resolve to fearlessly demand answers to the unresolved accountability issues and be even more determined in exposing all the unholy shenanigans.”

Recently, some documents from the Finance Ministry leaked, showing that the Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta had authorized the payment of GHC 32 million to David Adjaye for his consultancy work for the National Cathedral.

But letters from the Jubilee House and the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) headed by the criminally-charged A.B Adjei, show that the UK-based renowned Ghanaian architect was sole-sourced for the project and was allocated US$ 23 million (GHC 184 million).

On December 10, 2018 (barely two years of Akufo Addo in office), his Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Opare wrote to the crooked A.b Adjei to endorse the payment which formed 12.5 % of the then-projected US$190 million (GHC 1.5 billion) cathedral project.

“The total budget for the amount of USD 23,750,000.00 payable in Ghana Cedi equivalent at the prevailing Bank of Ghana forex rate at the time of payment. The fee accounts for 12.5% of the estimated total construction cost of USD 190,000,000.00,” Ms. Frema-Opare wrote.