Gov't begins demolition of Judges’ bungalows for National Cathedral

Government has begun a demolishing exercise to make way for the construction of a National Cathedral as evicted judges have been given a $168,000 (GHC800,000) temporary accommodation, MyNewsGh.com can confirm.

We have exclusively obtained footage of the demolition process as contractors remove the removable, reusable parts of the bungalows before bulldozers raze the building.

The building as MyNewsGh.com reported in the past consist of ten (10) six-bedroom bungalows which were built only four years ago by the Judicial Service to house Court of Appeal Judges.

The GHS800,000 temporary accommodation for the judges provided by government is for the next 18 months. It is expected that by the end of the 18th month, permanent structures will be constructed for them.

While President Akufo-Addo has called the National Cathedral “a priority among priorities”, his government then led by John Peter Amewu justified the decision to evict some nine judges from their official residence to make way for the construction of the National Cathedral scheduled to be built in Accra.

John Peter Amewu who was Lands and Natural Resources Minister tlat the time said that the government had no issues with the proposed site for the edifice per the proposal by the Rev. Asante Antwi-led committee.

“We want to build [the national cathedral] in a strategic place, something that befits this country…and that is why we’re looking for a very prime area that will fit the status of the kind of building that the committee envisaged, otherwise we can put it anywhere,” Amewu argued in an interview monitored by MyNewsGh.com.

More buildings to be demolished

It is only the judges bungalows that is going to the ground- all the buildings from the Ridge Circle to the Scholarship Secretariat, the Judicial Training Institute at East Ridge and the Passport Office are all expected to be demolished in the coming days for the take-off of the National Cathedral.

Mr. Amewu said an arrangement has been made to resettle all those who will be ejected from their land temporarily.

According to him, about 21 plush residential villas as well as a training facility for the Judicial Service, are to be built to replace the structures to be knocked down, the former Lands Minister said.

According to him, the Judges, whose official residences have been affected and who have been served eviction notices, have no issues with the decision.

“We have never had a complaint from any of those judges that are going to be affected…” he said.

National Cathedral Project

The National Cathedral of Ghana is a planned interdenominational Christian cathedral scheduled to be built in Accra, the nation’s capital, as part of Ghana’s 60th anniversary celebrations. The design for the cathedral was unveiled by the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, in March 2018.

The cathedral will have an auditorium capable of seating 5,000 as well as the requisite chapels, and a baptistery. The site will also house a music school, an art gallery, and a museum dedicated to the Bible.

The design of the cathedral reflects the art and culture of Ghanaian ethnic groups; the high pitched and staggered roof is reminiscent of Akanian architecture and the facade will be concave and decorated with timber in imitation of Ashanti royal stools.

The architect for the project is the British-Ghanaian David Adjaye.