Dr Arthur Kennedy, a leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has urged the next President of Ghana to abort the construction of the National Cathedral of Ghana.
Speaking in an interview on TV3, on October 19, 2023, Dr Kennedy said that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would never be able to complete the construction of the National Cathedral before he leaves office.
He added that the next president of Ghana would only continue the National Cathedral project if s/he is under a spell.
“It (the National Cathedral) will never be complete. It cannot be completed before this president leaves office and however takes over from him if that person would be wise, it would be one of the first projects he would cancel.
“… No president who isn’t bewitched would continue this project,” he said.
Dr Kennedy described the decision by the president to construct the cathedral as the worst decision he (Akufo-Addo) has taken.
“And actually, his government has done quite a few bad things but this is the worst of the worst… it is a stunning misappropriation of public resources in the face of glaring needs.
“When God himself says he no longer dwells in temples but in our hearts. And the same Bible says whatever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do to me. If we should have used those resources to do onto the least of these then Nana would have been blessed,” he added.
Meanwhile, the presiding Archbishop and General Overseer of the Action Chapel International (ACI) Ministry, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams and President of the Eastwood Anaba Ministries, Eastwood Anaba, have resigned as members of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral.
In a joint statement to the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the esteemed clergymen cited their growing concerns about transparency and accountability within the project.
This leaves only 8 of the 13 clergy, President Akufo-Addo entrusted with building the National Cathedral of Ghana.
The founder of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Dr Mensah Otabil, who was a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, also walked away from the project.
The immediate past moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Rev. Professor Cephas Omenyo, also resigned from the Board of Trustees due to ill health.
Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, the founder and presiding bishop of the United Denominations Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches, left his role as a member of the Board of Trustee, citing the circumstances around which he was omitted in the registration process of the trustees, even though his image had been used on the project website as a Board of Trustees member.
Watch the interview below:
The National Cathedral will never be complete. No President who isn't bewitched would continue this project - Dr Arthur Kennedy, Leading NPP member #GhanaTonight pic.twitter.com/hF5PXmNRxj
— #3NewsGH (@3NewsGH) October 19, 2023
BAI/AW
You can also watch this episode of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV: