Bawah Mogtari believes the Cathedral should have been sited outside Accra to develop to that place
She is not convinced that building a cathedral at this point in the country’s history is a prudent move
Government is soliciting funds for the construction of the project
Private legal practitioner and leading member of the National Democratic Congress, Joyce Bawah Mogtari has opined that there appears to be a lack of coordinated plan in the execution of the National Cathedral project.
Bawa Mogtari reckons that the government and stakeholders involved in executing the project failed to consider a few things before embarking on the construction.
In an interview with Original TV, the former Deputy Minister of Transport said whiles she is not averse to the idea of building a national edifice for God, she has questions with the timing and manner in which it is being done.
Her other ‘reservation’ about the National Cathedral is the location of the facility. She believes the edifice could have been sited in a community on the outskirts of Accra to draw development to that area.
She also does not believe that demolishing houses of judges to make way for the project was a prudent move.
“No matter how you look at, the Cathedral is not a priority. Secondly, I have a reservation about the location. Just across it we have Parliament house, we have Accra International Conference Centre.
“As we were thinking around opening Accra, we could have sent it to other parts of the country like Aburi or Prampram. If it was my decision to make, I probably would have loved to see a Cathedral of that kind opening up a community somewhere else. For us to invest that amount of money, destroy building that belonged to Justices.
“The Cathedral is not a priority. We destroyed beautiful edifices and homes that were housing judges. What justification can you have? What moral reason can you have? To go on this destructive spree and finish all of that and ask people to contribute exposes the lack of candour in the manner with which the whole idea has been handled,” she said.
The National Cathedral is back in the news again after the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta mentioned a fund-raising appeal during the reading of the mid-Year Budget Review last week.
Ken Ofori-Atta appealed to Ghanaians to donate GH¢100 every month for the project which is scheduled for completion in March 2024.
“Work on the National Cathedral is progressing speedily. Upon completion, the National Cathedral would provide a sacred space for formal religious activities of State and symbolise the enormous contribution of faith to Nation Building,” he said.
“This state and church partnership envisaged by the president to develop the National Cathedral is on course. An initiative, the GH¢100 a month also dubbed ‘Ketoa Biaa Nsua, will be launched by the trustees of the National Cathedral on August 12, 2021, to give as many Ghanaians as possible the opportunity to be part of the history of the National Cathedral”.
“A special shortcode 979 has been developed for this purpose as we look forward to Mr Speaker and all the members of this house to join in the GH₵100 a month initiative,” he added.
