Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, Director of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has challenged Pastor Mensa Otabil to justify spending $97 million on Ghana's National Cathedral project, which remains unfinished years after construction began.
The exchange follows a sermon by Otabil, founder of the International Central Gospel Church, in which he criticised Ghanaians for allowing political bias to cloud their judgement on the cathedral. Otabil argued that Christians should have no reservations about building on a grand scale to the glory of God, and said the country was "so small-minded that we allow politics to blind us," directing his comments at those who have opposed the project on partisan grounds.
Tamakloe has been a longstanding critic of the cathedral's cost, previously describing the money spent on the project as going toward "the most expensive hole" and arguing that the funds could instead have gone toward pressing infrastructure needs, such as completing the long-stalled Pokuase to Amasaman road.
The National Cathedral was first announced in 2017 under former President Nana Akufo-Addo as an interdenominational house of worship, designed by architect Sir David Adjaye. It was originally projected to cost around $100 million, largely through donations, but government and audit disclosures have since put state expenditure on the project at $97 million, with construction still incomplete. A Deloitte and Touche audit into the project reportedly uncovered financial irregularities, procurement breaches and unsupported expenditures.
