Auditor General’s Report: Government Spent GH¢142 Million On National Cathedral Project In 2021

• The 2021 Auditor General’s report revealed that the government spent an amount of GH¢142 million on the National Cathedral project
• Despite the huge allocation of resources, work on the project has stalled, with only foundation works completed so far
• The National Cathedral project, which is said to be suspended as a result of inadequate funds, is scheduled to be completed in March 2024

The 2021 Auditor General’s Report has revealed that the government spent GH¢142 million on the National Cathedral project.

According to the report, the construction of the National Cathedral, a personal promise of President Nana Akufo-Addo to God after winning the 2016 elections, was captured under the government’s priority programmes and interventions for the said year.

Funding for the project was initially expected to be private-led, with the government only providing the land for the construction.

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That stance has heavily shifted, with the government leading the charge in providing funding for the project.

Since the inception of the project in 2020, government stated emphatically that the project will not be funded with state cash but leaked documents revealed a directive by the Finance Minister to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department for the release of $25 million of taxpayers’ money to contractors as seed capital for the National Cathedral project.

Also, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, released documents indicating that an additional GH¢200 million of taxpayers' money has been spent on the project thus far.

However, pictures of the construction site reveal that only works on the foundational level have been completed despite the resources injected into the project.

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The information available to YEN.com.gh, as captured in the Auditor General’s 2021 Report, disclosed that GH¢142,762,500 was spent on the edifice as of December 2021.

The total cost of construction of the project is pegged at $340 million and is expected to be completed in March 2024.

Delays on the project have largely been attributed to inadequate funding, with construction works being suspended.

National Cathedral: Work Suspended On Controversial Project Over Lack Of Funds

Executive Director of the National Cathedral Project, Dr Paul Opoku-Mensah, has disclosed that the project's construction has been put on hold due to unavailable funds.

When the Redeemed Christian Church of God donated to the cathedral secretariat on Tuesday, August 30, 2022, Dr Opoku-Mensah said the capital to finance the project had run out.

Source: YEN.com.gh