The Mahama administration has reiterated that it will not spend any more public funds on the National Cathedral’s construction.
President John Dramani Mahama previously said the government will not continue funding the project, leaving churches and other interested religious bodies to mobilise funds if they wish to continue construction.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series at Jubilee House on Monday, October 5, Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Minister Mahama Ayariga said President Mahama has also directed the dissolution of the project’s Board of Trustees.
“Government is not going to put one single city in any further construction work at the National Cathedral site, so no government money is going into the construction of a National Cathedral,” he said.
Mr. Ayariga said the Board had become unnecessary because government no longer intends to finance the project.
“Because we don’t intend to have government money going into it, we don’t think the Board of Trustees remains relevant as constituted as an agency of government,” he stated.
He said members of the Board have been formally notified of their dissolution, while the contractor has been directed to hand over the site to the ministry.
The decision comes as the government awaits the Attorney General’s review of a forensic audit into expenditure on the project under the former Akufo-Addo administration.
“For now the Board of Trustees stands dissolved, and the site reverts to the Ministry of Local Government,” Mr. Ayariga said.
The National Cathedral project, initiated under the Akufo-Addo administration, has faced significant public scrutiny over its financing, expenditure and construction.
