The Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that the proposed National Cathedral, which is to be built in the heart of the city of Accra, will be one of the iconic structures on the African continent.
Speaking at a ceremony to cut the sod for the commencement of the construction of the Cathedral, President Akufo-Addo said he was determined to lead the efforts aimed at ensuring the completion of the project in fulfillment of his pledge to God in the heat of the 2016 general elections.
“As I indicated on 6th March 2017, upon completion, the National Cathedral is certainly going to be one of the iconic structures of the African Continent,” President Akufo-Addo said.
According to him, he identified three main reasons behind his decision to mobilize support for the construction of the Cathedral. Firstly, the President said: “Since gaining our freedom from the colonial power 63 years ago on the 6th of March 1957, Ghana has so far been speared any civil war, famine, and epidemics”
“We are certainly no better than the other nations in our neighborhood, who have been confronted with these challenges. I believe it is by the Grace of God that we have been preserved and sustained. The construction of the Cathedral will be an act of thanksgiving to the Almighty for His Blessings, Grace, Favour and Mercies on our nation.”
Secondly, “Seventy-one percent of the Ghanaian people adhere to the Christian religion grouped under the various persuasions of the Christian Faith. The interdenominational National Cathedral will help unify the Christian community and thereby help promote national unity and social coercion.
Thirdly, President Akufo-Addo noted that he made a pledge to Almighty God that if He was Gracious enough to him to make him President, he would help build a Cathedral to His Glory and Honour adding “I am determined to redeem this pledge.”
Meanwhile, the critics of the President Akufo Addo said that the construction of the National Cathedral was not a national priority, but a personal project by the President.
Some have argued that the site in which the Cathedral is being built is a state land and that pulling down of judges’ bungalows to pave way for cathedral would amount to causing financial loss to the state.
The Supreme Court last thrown away a case filed by a citizen challenging the constitutionality of using state land for the proposed Cathedral.
DAP/GIK/APA