The National Cathedral will cost $1 billion by the time of completion – Isaac Adongo

He said the figures keep changing at every stage of the construction and Ghanaians should expect a colossal figure at the end of the construction.

In a post on Facebook, the opposition lawmaker decried the abuse of funds by the government in the construction of the Cathedral.

“It's a shame. Looting in the name of the Cathedral is inconclusive. The cost of the cathedral is now a moving target. The dream of it was $100m. At design $200m.”

“At demolition and excavation, the costs shot up to $250m. It is now billed at $350m without a block on-site but ponds. Expect it to be $500m at substructure and $1 billion at full completion. Criminals looting in the name of God,” he added.

But in the defense for the construction of the Cathedral, Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance has said that Ghanaians should appreciate what the government is doing.

Speaking in an interview, the Finance Minister said there is never a right time for such important monuments and the government will make sure it is constructed.

For him, the current economic challenges should not deter the state from fulfilling its responsibility to build a monument that has huge investment potential.

Isaac Adongo Pulse Ghana

“At any point in time when these buildings were built in Europe, was it ever the right time? How do we fund it will become the question. Is the executive mindful of the current situation? We shouldn’t snuff out our religiousness or spirituality because we are poor. The Lord will understand if we put our widows mite in there”, he said on state broadcaster, GTV on Sunday.

He said the raging debate on the financial prudence and relevance of the National Cathedral is misguided.

“That question being asked is that are we spending money from state coffers? Is that too much to do because we are politicizing it. Do we really want to stop it? That is going to be my question.”

Ken Ofori- Atta, rather, wants critics not to lose sight of the real returns the National Cathedral project could generate to shore up government’s revenue target.