Former Deputy Minister for Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has described the construction of the National Cathedral by the Akufo-Addo government as the most useless venture in Ghana’s history.

Even as the physical structure of the controversial project is yet to be seen by the public, the former minister said the government has already pumped $58 million of state funds into the project at a time Ghana is witnessing an economic downturn.

Describing the initial work done on the construction site as “the most useless pit ever in the world”, the NDC Parliamentary candidate for the Abura Asebu Kwamankese constituency stated that he will never support the construction of a cathedral with state funds when the government cannot provide basic amenities for the people.

He said the government could not pay caterers to feed basic school pupils across the country but saw it prudent to “waste” funds on the building of a cathedral whose impact would not be felt by the citizens.

“I have said that I will never support the construction of the National Cathedral. I don’t know how you would want to describe me; You can call me a devil for saying that,” Kwakye Ofosu told Oheneba Boamah Bennie, host of the Gumbe Show on TV XYZ.

“Thereis no need to support this project. As we live in this country, is our priority a cathedral?” he quizzed.

Kwakye Ofosu indicated that the government is looking for $52 million of state funds to pay the contractor working on the project just for “constructing a whole on the site.”

Controversies

Apart from questions of accountability which have been repeatedly raised by the Minority in Parliament, there have also been concerns about the relevance of the project as the country cannot sustain its debts coupled with high inflation.

The questions led to two eminent clergymen and members of the Board of Trustees of the controversial National Cathedral project calling for its immediate suspension.

The two – Archbishop Duncan Williams and Reverend Eastwood Anaba asked for a financial audit to be undertaken before the project could continue.

Earlier in 2022, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, the founder and leader of the Lighthouse Chapel International resigned secretly from the Board of Trustees of the project.

In the letter, Bishop Heward-Mills expressed disappointment at the leadership of the National Cathedral for ignoring concerns he raised in several letters he wrote to them with the recent one being in June 2022 through the Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference.

Part of it reads, “I feel that the treatment of the issues I have raised in my several letters has been unfortunate. My letters have been ignored in the past; not attended to for years, and at best addressed flippantly.”

“You may recall I have spoken passionately and written extensively about the costs, the design, the location, the fundraising, the mobilization of the churches, and the role of the trustees. These, if heeded, would have made our project more achievable. Generally speaking, my inputs, my opinions, and my letters have been trivialized and set aside.”