Despite the stiff opposition to government’s plan to build a national Cathedral, it seems the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) will not back down on its decision.
The building of the Cathedral has caused an uproar in the country with many accusing government of having misplaced priorities as well as wasting the taxpayer’s money.
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, one of the bigwigs in the NPP and founder of Pro-NPP policy think tank, the Danquah Institute, is the latest to wade into the debate.
[contextly_sidebar id=”pmAVbeomr900ZvDk19qmC5s8E6bpdkxo”] According to him, he is completely taken aback by the public outcry about the project.
In a series of posts on social media, Gabby insisted nothing will stop government from constructing the cathedral.
“The Cathedral must be built”, he tweeted
“The Cathedral is a great idea. The location is perfect. The means of funding, not with public funds, is refreshing. The Cathedral must be built. The judges will be housed and even more decently”.
“I’m a little lost on this whole debate about the Cathedral. What really is the new issue?, Gabby wrote again on Facebook.
Reactions from social media
The justification of the close confidant to the President did not go down well with some Ghanaians.
Here are a few responses.
‘Build national shrine for traditionalists, mosque for Muslims too’ – Suhuyini
National Democratic Congress [NDC] Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini, wants the Akufo-Addo government to facilitate the construction of a national center of worship for other religious groups in the country.
“If that’s government’s decision and they find it important, I have nothing against it. But you see, this is not a decision by the Christian community. It is a decision of the government to give them a national cathedral. Maybe when they finish, they will give us too a national mosque, and they will give the traditional believers a national shrine too.”
“They do not have to wait for another faith to ask. Just like how they have taken this decision to dash a national cathedral to the Christian community, we expect them to do that. It should not be about another faith asking.”
The National Cathedral
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.
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.
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By: citinewsroom.com/Ghana