A former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Reverend Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, has expressed concerns about the waning enthusiasm for the National Cathedral project.
According to him, after the resignation of Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams and Rev. Eastwood Anaba from the Board of Trustees overseeing the construction of the National Cathedral, the fervour surrounding the project has dwindled significantly.
In an interview on Citi TV, Rev. Opuni-Frimpong revealed that, the project was to be spearheaded and constructed by the church.
However, to him, government has taken on a more prominent role in the project.
“I was in the Office as General Secretary at the very beginning of the National Cathedral. At the time, the former presiding bishop of the Methodist Church, Reverend Samuel Asante Antwi, was the chairman of the Board of the National Cathedral. He explained to us that we, the churches in Ghana, were going to build the Cathedral not the government. The government was only going to facilitate the process and provide seed money. We were happy about this idea.
We thought we were having an opportunity to work together as Christians to achieve something. However, when Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa started a series of disclosures, it became very clear that it was the government that was building the Cathedral” he said.
Rev. Opuni-Frimpong stated that, government’s involvement in the project has diminished the sense of ownership and enthusiasm among Christians in Ghana.
He urged the government to allow the churches to take a leading role in the project.
“My plea is that the government must allow the churches to build the Cathedral. We should not offer to God a Cathedral that cost us nothing,” Rev. Opuni-Frimpong added.
Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams and Rev. Eastwood Anaba resigned from the board of trustees over concerns that their call for an audit into the activities of the National Cathedral project went unheeded since January 2023.
They noted that the deafening silence on the call for an audit runs contrary to their conscience and belief.
But in a sharp rebuttal, National Cathedral Secretariat described the claim that no information whatsoever on the audit process was conveyed to them as false.
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