We will be able to finish it in about 18 months, according to Rev. Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee, a member of the National Cathedral’s Board of Trustees. “One million people, a minimum of Gh100 a month, we will be able to complete it,” she said.
On Tuesday, December 27, she made the remark during a segment of GhanaTonight on TV3, which GhanaPlus.com was watching.
“We are basing our fund-raising efforts on the assumption that a million donors will each give at least Gh100 per month. We can finish it in around 18 months if we have one million people and at least Gh100 per month.
When asked about the controversy, transparency, and discussions surrounding the national interdenominational initiative lunched by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2018, she made the remark.
Dr. Aryee: “Cathedral was never meant to be supported only by the government.”
She claims that the project was never meant to be entirely supported by the government, but rather with help from the general people and Christians.
She disclosed that just the property, the secretariat, the initial funding, and payment for the architect and consulting services were to be provided by the government.
“It was never intended for the cathedral to be built fully with public funds. It was never meant to be, and when the President first had the idea, he thought that the state would contribute in part and believers would cover the remaining costs. As a result, the state promised land, compensation for the architect and his design team, and consulting fees, as well as seed money, Dr. Aryee said.
National Memorial
The National Cathedral of Ghana, a promise to God made by Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo before to his victory in 2016, has lost favor with the populace since significant government funds are being used to fund its construction despite the nation’s economic difficulties.
Government has already spent a whopping GH339,003,064.86 on the project, which is still in the foundational stage, as of November this year.
Many believe the project should be put on hold until the country is financially stable, but the government has a different opinion. It is estimated to cost $200 million initially and $370 million at this time.
A budget commitment of 80 million dollars for the project in the 2023 budget statement was recently denied by Ghana’s Parliament.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, hosted a luncheon in 2018 for the projected interdenominational Christian cathedral that would be located in Accra.
The world-class building created by British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye will have a 5, 000-seat auditorium, chapels, a baptistery, a music school, an art gallery, and a museum devoted to the bible when it is finished.