Government will soon investigate national cathedral project – President Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to initiate an investigation into the National Cathedral project, in line with a directive from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

CHRAJ, in a report dated 22nd November 2024 and signed by Commissioner Dr Joseph Whittal, recommended an investigation and possible prosecution of the Board of Trustees of the project for breaching the Procurement Act, Act 663. The commission’s investigation revealed that the $312 million contract awarded to Ribade Company Limited for the cathedral’s construction contravened mandatory procurement provisions.

Speaking at the National Prayer and Thanksgiving Service in Accra on Sunday, 12th January, President Mahama pledged to investigate the funds spent to ensure the project’s integrity.

He stated:

Government is enjoined to follow this directive and will soon activate such an investigation into the project. But on the future of the project, the Cathedral I believe that all of us as Christians must forge a consensus on how to achieve such a project without recourse to public funds, and this project must be achieved at a reasonable cost.

President Mahama questioned the project’s rationale amid the current economic challenges, adding the need for cheaper alternative funding:

In the current circumstances that Ghana is going through, it makes no sense to achieve such a project at a whopping sum of $400 million. I am informed that the National Ecumenical Center in Abuja, used by all Christian faiths in Nigeria, was built at a cost of $30 million. I believe that we can reach a more reasonable figure for achieving such a project, and together we can raise the funding for it.

He further noted that a potential change of the project’s location will be considered:

Such a reconsideration of this project might even include changing the current site that was chosen for the project. I leave the rest. I leave the rest to any such future consultation that we will have as the body of Christ.

The $450 million project, initiated by President Akufo-Addo in March 2017, has faced significant delays and corruption allegations. By the end of the Akufo-Addo administration, despite $58 million spent, it had seen minimal progress.

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