Professor Ransford Gyampo of the University of Ghana has disclosed that some men of God on the National Cathedral Board of Trustees threatened them at the time they started critiquing the project.
He says they received phone calls from some of the board members who said they were going to pray against them for expressing their reservations over the project which has now become a controversial topic in the country.
Prof. Gyampo, on the KeyPoints on Saturday, October 05, 2024, questioned the men of God still occupying positions on the Board of Trustees if they are proud of their achievement.
“When they started, we told them, some of them called us behind the scenes, threatened us that ‘we’ll pray against you, it’s the work of God’, and so we should keep quiet,” he disclosed.
However, he said his conviction was enough for him to carry on with what he was doing. “I’m saying that no amount of prayer can stop somebody who has conviction to do also the work of God.”
“You say you are doing the work of God, we are also doing the work of God. Now, where are we now? So, are they still proud that they thought and wanted to force the idea that our God does not prioritize? They wanted to force that idea on all of us. I mean, this one, it was pure common sense,” he added.
The National Cathedral Ghana project is a promise made by President Akufo-Addo to personally construct a cathedral to honour God if He made him win the 2016 elections.
He said the project was going to be funded by the private sector since it is not a State project and was not factored in any of the government’s budget.
Meanwhile, government has since 2018, expended a whooping US$58 million on the project which is still in its foundation stage, with the site now turned into what others have described as a swimming pool.
An estimated $450 million 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. Though a large sum, the amount is not sufficient on its own to pay the remaining costs of construction.
Content by: Felix Anim-Appau
