Government says the temporary accommodation for judicial staff including judges residing along the Ridge Roundabout area earmarked for the national cathedral project will be paid by financiers of the cathedral.
“The cost of relocating of those staff of the judicial service from that site to where they would be temporarily housed for one year once we are awaiting the completion of that residential development project, is not being borne by the state, but by the person undertaking that development project so it is not correct that judges are being forcefully evicted or that eviction notices are being given to persons,” Deputy Minister of Information, Pius Hadzide said in a Citi News interview on Monday.
[contextly_sidebar id=”Oi4rkYiUHf1YuaPLm1QP3tokAxOcAW1F”]President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2017 cut sod for the construction of a National Cathedral to serve as a national non-denominational Christian worship centre for the country.
However, there are reports that some nine justices of the Court of Appeal as well as other judicial staff occupying bungalows around the site earmarked for the project, have been asked to vacate to make way for the construction of the 5,000-seater capacity facility.
They are to move into temporary residential buildings pending the construction of some 21 new bungalows on the Second Circular Road – Cantonments in Accra.
These will be completed and handed over by January 2020.
The said evictions have caused an uproar in the country with many accusing government of having misplaced priorities and a waste of the taxpayer’s money.
But speaking to Citi News, Deputy Minister of Information, Pius Hadzide said the entire cost of the project, as well as the temporary accommodation for the affected persons, would be taken care of by private institutions and individuals.
“It is not correct that the state was going to be wasting public resources on building that cathedral. Building of that cathedral will primarily be funded by voluntary contributions from the Christian community, philanthropists and with grants from development partners,” Hadzide added in the Citi News interview.
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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citinewsroom.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin
