National Cathedral Board demands prove of accepting money from LGBTI+ community
Govt urges Ghanaians to donate GH¢100 a month to support construction of Cathedral
Leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has questioned the board of trustees for the National Cathedral Secretariat on the basis for which it will reject donations made to it by the LGBTI community as support for the construction of the national cathedral.
In an interview on the Asaase Breakfast Show, secretary to the board of trustees Rev. Kusi Boateng, debunked rumors that it had accepted monies from the LGBTI+ community.
“Since this LGBTQ+ thing came in almost all the members of the board of trustees have come publicly to say we need this bill. So it will be conflicting for people to start circulating that the board of trustees have accepted the injection of monies from the LGBTQ+ community.
“So I say with authority that the LGBTQ+ community has never confronted us and has never given us a dollar. And if by chance anybody has any kind of evidence that the National Cathedral has received even a dollar from the LGBTQ+ community, I’ll resign the same day,” he told host of the morning show Kwaku Nhyira-Addo.
But reacting to the development, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a critic of the anti-gay bill, maintained that it would not be out of place for the secretariat to consider accepting a kind gesture from the community.
“Is it the rule or practice that churches in Ghana take no donations, tithes or offerings from homosexuals? Are gays banned from being Christians? No. If they are free to got to church, as it is the case, then surely they are free to donate and if so then what really is the issue?,” he wondered.
The government’s plan to construct a national cathedral has sparked a lot of conversation on its necessity.
The project, which is expected to cost over US$100 million, will be opened to the general public on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
As part of efforts to mobilize revenue for the project, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta at the presentation of the Mid-Year Budget Review in July this year appealed to Ghanaians to donate GH¢100 a month.
“The state and church partnership envisaged by the president to develop the National Cathedral is on course. An initiative; the GH¢100 a month also dubbed “Ketoa Biaa Nsua” will be launched by the trustees of the National Cathedral on August 12, 2021, to give as many Ghanaians as possible the opportunity to be part of the history of the National Cathedral,” he said.
“A special shortcode 979 has been developed for this purpose as we look forward to Mr speaker and all the members of this august house to join in the GH¢100/a month,” he added.
Following the appeal, a number of religious groups have made donations to the National Cathedral Secretariat.
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko is a leading member of the New Patriotic Party