National Cathedral: Reverend Opuni-Frimpong Advises Government Against Using Taxes For Project

• Reverend Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong thinks the best model for the National Cathedral project would be one that allows the church in Ghana to lead the construction and funding
• The former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana wants the state to stop dipping its hands in taxes to fund the project
• He said it is best for the Christian community to actively participate in the significant religious project, rather than the state taking charge of it

Former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Reverend Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, has called on the government to rethink its decision to fund the mammoth National Cathedral project with taxes.

The clergyman is of the opinion the state's involvement in the construction of the National Cathedral of Ghana is wrong.

In his view, it is best for the Christian community to actively participate in the significant religious project, rather than the state dipping its hands in public funds to advance the project.

Read also

Akosombo Dam disaster: $40m World Bank programme to aid farmers affected by spillage

He made the comments during an interview with Citi News on October 19, 2023.

Rev Opuni-Frimpong attributed a noticeable decline in the initial enthusiasm that greeted the project to the state's active involvement and the subsequent controversies surrounding the project.

He noted that when the project first began, the former presiding bishop of the Methodist Church, Reverend Samuel Asante Antwi, had stated that the construction would be undertaken by Ghana's churches, with the government facilitating the process.

This approach appealed to the Christian community, he said, noting that it presented an opportunity for them to unite and contribute to a shared religious endeavour.

However, Rev Opuni-Frimpong noted that subsequent disclosures by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa made it apparent that it was primarily the government responsible for building the National Cathedral.

Read also

National Cathedral Secretariat rejects "false claims" by Duncan-Williams, Anaaba

He urged the government to allow the churches themselves to lead the construction, emphasising that a Cathedral offered to God should come from the dedicated contributions of the faithful.

Not long ago, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams and Rev Eastwood Anaba resigned from the Board of Trustees overseeing the National Cathedral project.

Their resignation was prompted by the government's failure to commission an independent accounting firm to audit public funds allocated to the Cathedral's construction.

In their joint statement, the two religious leaders expressed regret at the lack of progress on the audit and resigned from the project's board of trustees.

Kwabena Agyepong criticises state funding of National Cathedral

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that NPP stalwart Kwabena Agyepong has said he had been under the impression that the National Cathedral project would be privately funded until the government started dipping its hands into state coffers to fund it.

Read also

Mepe queen mother defends Akufo-Addo's 'you didn't vote for me' comment: "It was a joke"

The former General Secretary of the governing NPP said it is wrong for the state to be funding the controversial $400 million project under the prevailing economic conditions.

The top NPP executive said on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, during an interview that Nana Akufo-Addo should appeal to Christians in Ghana and elsewhere to contribute towards the project because they have been doing that for centuries.

Source: YEN.com.gh