An avowed critic of the National Cathedral Project, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, says the project cannot be completed under President Akufo-Addo.
The North Tongu MP says such projects take many years to complete.
Despite massive criticisms especially about the timing of the project, the President has stated firmly that it would be built.
When he met the clergy recently, he reiterated his commitment to ensure the project reaches an advanced stage.
But Mr. Ablakwa told Citi News the fact that the project has stalled for months shows the timeline isn’t achievable.
“Is this the time to do this? We are rushing to do this in four years, we are making history and it is the wrong history. The Washington national cathedral was built within 82 years. The Milan cathedral was more than 500 years. The Italians took their time, in periods of drought and economic hardship they took their time.”
“This month is 10 months since the contractors left the site so when I hear the president screaming that we will build it, it is laughable, anybody familiar with this project knows that it is not possible.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa recently made fresh allegations about the budget for the National Cathedral project. He says he has uncovered that GH2.6 million had been paid to a creche in Dawhenya, a suburb of Accra.
He accused a company called JNS Talent Centre Limited of receiving that sum of money for “unknown services rendered.”
The Executive Director of the National Cathedral Secretariat, Dr. Paul Opoku Mensah, says government has so far spent GH₵339.003.064.86.
He says it includes GH₵113 million paid to the Consultant, and GH₵225 million paid to the Secretariat for the construction.
Dr. Opoku Mensah dismissed reports that the secretariat has misappropriated funds allocated to the project.
He was speaking after President Akufo-Addo visited the construction site on Monday, January 2, 2023.
The project was envisioned in March 2017 as a physical embodiment of national unity, harmony, and spirituality.
The inter-denominational cathedral is expected to have an auditorium capable of seating 5,000 people, chapels, and a baptistery.
