Reverend Dr. Kwabena Opuni Frimpong, a former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, has called for clarity on the government's involvement in the construction of the National Cathedral.
His comments come amid growing concerns and confusion surrounding the project's funding and oversight.
According to him, the government must be clear on who is building the cathedral, adding that this will reduce the public’s distrust in the project.
While the government has been accused of funding the project with state funds, the members of the board of trustees have also maintained that the government is only playing a facilitating role in the construction of the cathedral.
The government at the inception of the construction of the National Cathedral indicated that it is providing a seed capital and a secretariat to ensure that the president’s vision of putting up a cathedral is realised.
Along the line, the public’s attention was drawn to concerns of accountability in the funding of the National Cathedral, particularly when the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, hinted that the government is funding the project with state funds.
Recently, two more members on the Board: Archbishop Duncan Williams and Reverend Eastwood Anaba, resigned on grounds of the seeming lack of transparency after their call for an audit report since January 2023 have been delayed.
Dr. Opuni Frimpong, reacting to this development on Citi FM, highlighted the need for the government to openly state its position regarding the National Cathedral's construction.
He expressed frustration with the lack of assurance provided during discussions and communications with government representatives on the foregoing of the cathedral.
“This is an issue that we may need somebody from the government to just come out and publicly state that position.
“During the parliament discourse and a series of conversations with some government communicators and others, sometimes they don't give you assurance. And I have wished that somebody will reecho that position and therefore how much of the facilitation or the seed money and then must let the Christians in this country know that this cathedral, its responsibility is the church and not the government. So we will need a clear statement from an official source,” he said.
Dr. Opuni-Frimpong also highlighted that the initial understanding was that the church would lead in building the cathedral, with the government facilitating through the provision of seed money.
However, the current state, he added, lacks clarity and has left doubts about the responsible party.
“At the initial stages, they made it clear to us that the vision of having a national cathedral is the president’s vision but the churches in Ghana are going to build, the government will facilitate the roses and give seed money. That time those of us in office now started explaining that this is our responsibility.
“We started saying that the churches will even start going outside Accra other places for funds because we were convinced that we are building this cathedral. At the moment, I am not sure who is building the cathedral. While you want me to believe that this is still the church building, others will also hold the view that this is the government's. We will need to streamline this public opinion about the cathedral.
"Statements have been thrown here and there, and you don't know whether it's the government building the cathedral or it's the Christians in Ghana building the cathedral," he added.
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Rev. Dr Kwabena Opuni Frimpong