Attorney-General writ justifies Ofori-Atta spending on National Cathedral

In a writ filed in the Supreme Court of Ghana in July 2025, the Attorney-General of Ghana has justified the expenditure on the construction of the controversial National Cathedral.

In the writ obtained by Ghana Business News, the Attorney-General has effectively exonerating the former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta in a possible case of causing financial loss to the state in the matter of the expenditures for the National Cathedral.

“It can be concluded for the above that, the finances of the National Cathedral was approved by Parliament through the various budgets. In that regard, it is the defendant’s submission that the consequential orders cannot stand,” the writ said.

Ofori-Atta who has been declared wanted by the Office of Special Prosecutor for corruption and corruption related offences has been on the run in the United States where he fled to seek medical treatment and has since not returned to answer questions on his stewardship as Minister of Finance, after serving for eight years. He has been put on the Interpol Red Notice, as the OSP continues to seek his extradition to Ghana to face the law.

In response to the suit by a private legal practitioner, Jonathan Amable seeking among many other reliefs, from the Supreme Court the declaration that the financing of the cathedral from the Consolidated Fund violated Article 179 (11) of the 1992 Constitution, the Attorney-General argued that the expenditures were lawful.

The Attorney-General in the response extensively quoted the 2018 budget that was presented in Parliament by Ofori-Atta:

“Regarding the reliefs (1) and (k) of the Plaintiff’s Writ, with reference in the financing of the national cathedral, the then Minister for Finance’s Statement in his budgets since 2018 sums up the situation.

In the 2018 budget statement the then minister stated: “Mr. Speaker, the interdenominational National Cathedral that will be located in the heart of the capital, stands to help unify the Christian community as a place of worship and promote the national conversation on the role of faith in building Ghana. With the participation of various churches in the administration of the Cathedral, collective ownership of the project by the churches is envisioned. The Board of Trustees and the Secretariat have been established, and preparatory works for the construction of the Cathedral have begun. Procurement processes to select a contractor are expected to conclude by the end of the year and construction is expected to begin in March, 2020.

The National Cathedral is 100% owned by the State Indeed, the Attorney-General issued an opinion on 6th January 2022, that the National Cathedral is a state-owned company limited by guarantee.”

Further, the Attorney-General also argued that the 2018 budget had covered the expenditures for the cathedral that were made in 2021.
By Emmanuel K Dogbevi

See below the full details of the Attorney-General’s writ. You may download it here.

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