Presiding Bishop and General Overseer of the Transformation Assembly Church, Fred Korankye-Mensah, has stated that spending $350 million on building a 5,000-seater edifice will not please God, especially at this stage of the country's development.
He said, most of the cathedrals built across the globe were done when those countries were faring better economically and not when they were facing economic difficulties like what Ghana is facing currently.
He indicated that, as a Christain, it will be prudent for the nation to invest in the lives of Ghanaians rather than building an edifice that would please God.
Speaking on JoyNews PM Express, the man of God explained, “Not at all. Not at this time of our development. Not at this stage. Of course, nations like the UK, the United States of America, and other nations have built cathedrals, but at what point of their development did they build cathedrals? We’re not there yet, I don’t think that should be a national priority.
“You see a national cathedral is not bad, it’s a national symbol, I mean, it will help Christianity. It will help in building people’s lives, but not when our areas are flooding; not when people are hard-pressed; not when we’re being squeezed to pay taxes on almost everything; not when prices of things are rising up through the roof. I think that it shouldn’t be our priority now. It should not be."
Bishop Korankye-Mensah explained further: “There’s nothing wrong with it, but I think that the timing is absolutely not right. Because in the Old Testament, David was so fascinated about building a temple for God, and Solomon was so consumed with that vision, because under the old covenant God lived in buildings so a temple was a necessity, we needed to build the temple for him to dwell in.
“But then under the new covenant, the Bible says that God lives in men so if you want to build for God why don’t you build lives? Why don’t you put that money into lives? Why don’t you just look at people, focus on people and take care of people? I think God will be more pleased with that because God does not live in temples anymore."
“Temples are important, but I am the temple of God, so why do you put the money into a building and I go hungry?” Bishop Korankye-Mensah quizzed.
The National Cathedral project has in recent weeks dominated news headlines over some allegations that the government has provided seed money for the project despite earlier assurances that it was going to be financed by the Church.
North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa alleged that the Akufo-Addo-led administration has so far dolled out over GH₵190 million in funding for the construction of the National Cathedral.
His comment came after a recent report that the government has released an amount of GH₵25 million for the project.
In a post on his social media handle, Mr. Ablakwa said the government had earlier released an amount of over GH₵142 million bringing the cumulative funding for the project to GH₵199,832,603.00.
Again, he disclosed that one prominent member of the Board of Trustees and founder of ICGC, Dr. Mensa Otabil, has resigned over the various infractions surrounding the project.
National Cathedral