NPP MP stings Anglican church boss over 'naysayers' comment on Cathedral

Collins Adomako-Mensah, the Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North has surmised that it is erroneous for the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Anglican Church for the province of West Africa, Rev. Dr Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith to refer to opponents of the National Cathedral project as naysayers.

The lawmaker holds that it is well within the rights of people to ask questions about the amount of money being pumped into the project and that such persons should not be antagonized.

On the Wednesday, January 11 edition of Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana program, Collins Adomako-Mensah who reaffirmed his support for the project, bemoaned the opaqueness around the project.

He holds that a lot of the information surrounding the project have been shrouded in secrecy and that is the cause of the unending controversy the project is suffering.

He encouraged the secretariat and the government to be accountable and transparent about the project.

“I don’t think describing people who seek answers as naysayers is the way to go. I disagree with the use of the word naysayers. I have made it very clear that I’m not against the construction of the Cathedral. All that I said at the time was that I had a problem with communication.

“I felt that right from the onset if the government had decided to say that we want to build a cathedral as part of our infrastructure project and this is how much we intend to use from state coffers in addition to what we intend to raise from the private sector, people will disagree but if not for anything at all government has been forthright with the people.

“I saw this GHC28m on Ablakwa’s Facebook and I engaged him on Pan African TV some days ago and he made other revelations.

"At that particular point in time, I couldn’t respond but I didn’t have the information that he has and that is where the problem has always been.

"Ordinarily if an MP says a government has paid GHC28m to a consultant for a fundraising program, any Ghanaian would be upset. You pay GHC28m and got GHC700,000. Any Ghanaian who sees this will be alarmed,” he said.

Rev Dr Ben-Smith, who serves on the Board of the Volta River Authority (VRA), described persons criticizing the project as naysayers, whom the President ought to ignore and go ahead with the project.

“Your Excellency, your building of the National Cathedral is a long testimony of your devotion to God and no matter the naysayers it will happen,” he assured in a sermon during the Second Presidential New Year Service at the Jubilee House held on January 10, 2023.

Drawing analogies from the Bible, Rev Dr Ben-Smith compared President Akufo-Addo to the biblical King David who built a house for God despite opposition.

“You and other world leaders, King David faced similar challenges that we are still experiencing. The murmuring of the people and lamentation of the crowd, the abuse and lack of understanding of the issues that are clear to all…Yet David stood resolute, in his conviction in the midst of opposition,” he insisted.