Using taxes for the National Cathedral  project was wrong – Bishop Sam Owusu

Renowned Ghanaian Religious Leader, Peace Advocate and Senior Pastor of the Pottersville Church International Ghana, Bishop Sam Owusu has said it was wrong for the current government led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to take money from the national coffers for the construction of the National Cathedral because not all taxpayers are Christians.

According to Bishop Sam Owusu, although Ghana is a Christian nation, a lot of taxpayers are neither Christians nor do they belong to any religious body.

During an interview on Onua FM, monitored by MyNewsGh.com, Bishop Owusu observed that the county’s economy is in a deteriorating state, so it is inadvisable to use money from the national coffers for ventures when there are other pressing issues to focus on.

“Why will the government use money from the national coffers to construct the National Cathedral? The economy is sinking, people are hungry. Who wastes money when he or she knows he’s not financially stable? The state of this economy should trigger the government to know that it is inadvisable to use state money for this project.” He advised.

Announced in March 2017 as a symbol of Ghana’s self-perception as a ‘Christian nation’, many Ghanaians, including most church leaders welcomed the national cathedral project.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced the national cathedral amidst celebrations marking Ghana’s 60 years of independence from British colonial rule. For the president, the national cathedral was in fulfilment of a personal promise to God, made during the election campaign: if he won the 2016 presidential election, he would build a national cathedral. The president stated that the national cathedral was to thank ‘God for his blessings, favour, grace and mercies on our nation’, to provide ‘an avenue to call the nation to prayer, to worship, to celebrate, and to mourn’, to promote ‘deep national conversations on the role of faith in building the progressive and prosperous Ghana we all want’, and to encourage ‘ideas and values that should help us build a new Ghanaian civilization’.

Fast forward, seven years to date, Ghana’s taxpayers have expended 58 million dollars on the project which, in April 2024, has not progressed as the government had hoped. An estimated 450 million dollars is needed to complete the project and it is not clear if that amount is yet available to complete the construction. By mid-2022, various church denominations had contributed GH¢2.21 million ($164,000) towards the construction of the National Cathedral.

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