A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Kobina Arthur Kennedy, has described the construction of the National Cathedral as a misplaced priority, saying the project was ill-conceived and dead on arrival.
According to the US-based Ghanaian physician, the project has been tainted with corruption amid various accusations and allegations against some members of its Board of Trustees.
“The National Cathedral idea was ill-conceived, it has been mis-implemented and it has been tainted by corruption,” he maintained in an interview on Tuesday, January 17.
“This, certainly, is not the time to [build] a National Cathedral – it is a bad idea. I do not believe the National Cathedral is our niche.
“We are an African country and I do not believe anybody who lives up in the North America or Europe or Asia [who] wants to see a cathedral will come to black Africa to see a cathedral.”
In his view, the funds allocated for the construction of the National Cathedral can be used to build a slave museum that will resonate more with the diaspora.
“I believe we should have used the resources to build an African slave museum so that we can pitch to the rest of the world our history of slavery and the experience thereof.
“It is a white elephant. I just do not think we, as a black sub-Saharan country, have any comparative advantage in marketing a cathedral,” Dr Arthur Kennedy argued.
The project has been one of the topical issues in recent times due to concerns raised over its relevance as Ghana struggles to reduce debt and tackle inflation.
Issues of conflict of interest including possession of multiple identities amid other suspicious allegations against the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, have also been raised by the Minority in Parliament.
Mr Boateng has since rejected the claims made by the North Tongu legislator, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
By Christian Yalley|TV3|3news.com|Ghana