The National Cathedral is not a misplaced project – Richard Ahiagbah

He said the project is an important one for Ghana and not misplaced as suggested by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

In an interview on Accra-based Citi FM, Mr. Ahiagbah said the key issue was securing more resources to complete the project.

“I think that the cathedral project is a work in progress. I think that for any project of that magnitude to begin you dig a foundation and you build it out. And so, where it is at, it is at the appropriate stage where in time the structure would be put on it. So, for me, I don’t see any real challenge. I don’t see any appearance of waste because necessarily you must dig the pit and build on it. So, if people want to capitalize that we are building a pit, we haven’t built it out, what I tell them is that it is just a matter of time and the structure would come out.”

Richard-Ahiagbah-2 Pulse Ghana

“What I am very resolute and clear in my mind about is the commitment to build this and I believe that that commitment and desire to build a national cathedral for the country I think is a noble one and what we have to do is to continue in this effort and I believe that good people will come and support this project for it to see the light of day… “This cathedral thing, I think people make it seem to appear as if it is a misplaced project. It is not… What I think is our solution is that let’s get more revenue and more resources and build all of these things that we are looking for. And let’s not in the process underestimate the importance of one thing over the other,” he stated.

The cathedral, which was originally scheduled for commissioning on March 6 as stated by former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in the 2021 budget statement, has become a point of criticism. This is particularly true among minority MPs who are unhappy with the project’s expenditure.

Despite being denied entry to the construction site, the Minority MPs negotiated with security personnel to stand at the entrance. Here, they planned to hold a press conference to express their dissatisfaction with the ongoing project and its associated costs.