I. INTRODUCTION
The Chairman of the Ecumenical Councils, Most Rev Dr Paul Boafo; the Leadership of the
Ecumenical Councils, namely the 96-years old Christian Council of Ghana (CCG); Ghana
Pentecost and Charismatic Council (GPCC); National Association of Charismatic and
Christian Churches (NACCC); Ghana Charismatic Bishops Conference; Shepherd to
Shepherd Network of Clergy (SSNC); and other Councils.

Thank you very much for the invitation to brief you on the National Cathedral, particularly on
the future of the project. I have titled the presentation “The Past, The Present, and the
Future of the National Cathedral: A Negation, An Affirmation, and an Acknowledgment”. This
framing of the presentation is based on the assumption that an understanding of the past of
the project, an appreciation of its present state, and an outline of the future, is the most
effective framework to understand and advocate for the project.

The presentation is a further elaboration of a September 24, 2025 presentation made to the
leadership of the Christian Council of Ghana on effective advocacy strategies for the
National Cathedral.

II. THE PAST: NEGATING THE (POLITICIZED) NARRATIVE OF DECEPTION
The past, first, has to deal with the key issue of how a project that began with such goodwill
and enthusiasm ended up so toxic, and divided the country, including the church. The
answer, I believe, is linked directly to the initial June 2022 so-called “scandal” that rocked
the project. That is, the accusation that the President had informed the nation that the state
would only provide the land, and yet the state was providing funding to the project. This
began the erosion of trust in the project with criticism that this was a project built on
deception and lies. Specifically, this was the initial weapon that was wielded to attack the
legitimacy and credibility of the project beginning in June 2022. Incidentally this is still
repeated time and time again. To address this, I want to quote the 2019 Budget Speech
presented to Parliament by the Minster for Finance on November 15, 2018. In paragraphs
2 156, and 157, pages 104, 105, 106 of the presentation, and captured in the records of
Parliament, the Finance Minister had the following to say on the National Cathedral:

153. National Cathedral: Mr. Speaker, on March 6, 2017 - the 60th year of our
independence - the President cut the sod for the construction of a National Christian
Cathedral for the country that will provide the space for national events of a religious
nature. A National monument, the Cathedral will house impressive chapels and
baptistery, 5000-seat main auditorium, expandable to 15000 people for national
events and celebrations. It will include among others, a grand central hall, a music
school, and will house Africa’s first-ever Bible Museum and documentation centre,
The National Cathedral project will also bequeath to the country a gracious national
park for all Ghanaians; bring new skills, technology and jobs to the country; and will
act as a beacon to national, regional and international tourists. Mr Speaker, the
state is facilitating this process by providing the Land, the Secretariat, and
Seed money for the preparatory phase.

154. Mr. Speaker, the President is determined that the building of the National
Cathedral would not put undue financial burdens on the state. He has therefore
proposed a partnership between the State and the Ghanaian Christian community
both at home and in the Diaspora. The formal launch of this national fundraising
campaign is slated for December 28, 2018 in Ghana, and February 2019 in the
United States. This National Cathedral partnership framework operationalizes, and
indeed is a practical expression, of the social partnership envisaged to foster
participatory development of country as our collective goal.

(See: https://www.mofep.gov.gh/sites/default/files/budget-statements/2019-Budget-
Speech.pdf. Accessed November 17, 2025)

This was the first official announcement of the framework for implementation of the National
Cathedral Project to the nation. The first official announcement to the nation was the vision
of the project presented on March 6, 2017.

From the above, we can state categorically, there that there was no deception. Parliament
and the nation were informed that the state would make financial contributions to the
National Cathedral project, beyond the land. What we have here is the normal development
of public policy. From the policy intention or vision, the policy goes through the legal
strictures of the state where the Attorney General determines whether the policy is legal or
illegal. In the case of the National Cathedral, it actually went to the Supreme Court, which
determined it was legal and constitutional. After the legal determination, it finally comes to
the operational level where the framework for implementation would be determined. Our
determination at the operational level was that the project could not be implemented within
the funding model the President had proposed, which was that the state would only provide
the land. So, operationally, we proposed the extension of the role of the state, in a Project
document developed by the Secretariat and approved by the Board on September 18, 2018.
Following the approval of the project document by the Board and the State, the first
institution we informed was Parliament, and through Parliament, the nation. Yet because of
the polarization in our politics, it was a Member of Parliament who accused the project of this
deception, an indeed weaponized this and scandalized the project. The loss of the initial
goodwill and enthusiasm is directly related to this political and politicized narrative of
deception.

 

Against this background, coming to terms with the past of the project requires a negation
of this false narrative that the project deceived Ghanaians, including the church. This is
palpably false! Parliament and Ghanaians were informed about the expanded role of the
state in the 2019 Budget.

Recently, there has been news going round on social media about the Attorney General now
acknowledging that the payments by the state to the National Cathedral were legal. We are
yet to receive official confirmation that indeed the Attorney General has made these
statements. This notwithstanding, it must be stressed that this is what we have been
insisting all along. Parliament was informed on November 15, 2018 that besides the land,
the state would make additional financial commitments, including providing Seed Money,
towards the construction of the National Cathedral. Similarly, in relation to the legality of the
payments by the state, this is exactly what the Minister for Finance said three years ago, on
November 15, 2022 at the Parliamentary censure hearing on the National Cathedral. The
Finance Minister indicated that the funding was taken from the Consolidated Vote rather
than the Consolidated Fund, and so didn’t need Parliamentary approval. We are grateful to
God that some of these issues are unravelling, and bringing clarity. But for those of us
working on a daily basis on the National Cathedral, this is what we have been saying
consistently: we have managed the National Cathedral project with integrity. Although it is
draining to be subjected to five different investigations since January 2025: CHRAJ; OSP.
Deloitte; NIB, and PwC, we are committed to accounting for our stewardship.

 

III. THE PRESENT: AFFIRMING THE RELEVANCE OF THE NCG - CHURCH
If the past of the National Cathedral requires a negation of the narrative of deception, the
present calls for an affirmation of the relevance of the National Cathedral to both church and
country. In relation to the church, the National Cathedral as presently developed,
appropriates the vision of President Akufo Addo, and makes it relevant to the Church in
Ghana, which is called upon to financially contribute to its construction. The National
Cathedral, is a church for National Purposes that provides the nation with an
interdenominational space for worship, a house of prayer for the country, and offers the
church in Ghana an auditorium space of 5000, expandable to 15000; 2 chapels; 2 prayer
rooms; a baptistry that includes space for immersion (Catholics and Protestants) and
immersion (Pentecostals, Charismatics, AICs). It also includes spaces for music and church
choirs. As an infrastructure, it also provides a platform for Christian unity for the over 70% of
Ghana’s population who are Christians, thereby fostering national cohesion, as the
Supreme Court of Ghana agued in its January 23, 2019 seminal ruling on the project.
Although the National Cathedral was envisaged for the church in Ghana, we have integrated
elements to make it relevant to the African, and Global church. First the design, described
as an “Architectural Expression of African Christianity,” captures the moment when
Christianity has become a significant force on Africa’s institutional landscape, and is the
continent with the largest number of Christians. The design is the pathbreaking work of
iconic Ghanaian-British Architect Sir David Adjaye OBE, who designed the National Museum
of African American History and Culture in Washington DC, and the Abrahamic Family
House in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which opened in February 2023. Building on this
design, the National Cathedral is being developed as a “Home for African Christianity.”

The National Cathedral as a symbolic architectural expression, and celebration, of the
historically unparalled growth of Christianity on the African continent, responds to a major
concern with the lack of acknowledgment of this dramatic growth. As Yaw Perbi and Sam
Ngugi argue:

“Africa is the most Christian continent in the world today. Hallelujah! In the year
2018, for the first time in history, there were more Christian in Africa than on any
other continent in the entire world. The continent now has well over 670 million
Christ-followers. It gets even more impressive – by 2050 there wull likely be more
Christians in Africa (1.25 billion) than in the current second and third place
contenders, Latin America (705 million) and Europe (490 million) respectively,
combined.
Yet … since the publishing of this joyous fact, we have traversed nearly every
continent, including several countries within Africa itself, and have not found this
momentous occasion in world history acknowledged much, let alone profusely
celebrated to our satisfaction”.

The National Cathedral of Ghana offers the much-deserved architectural celebration of this
historic breakthrough. But it does more than just celebrate this shift in the centre of gravity of
Christianity to the African continent. In addition, and perhaps more important, it seeks to
create an African Christian metropolis to institutionalize this epochal event. The notion of an
African Christian metropolis was first introduced by one of the intellectual fathers of our
country, Dr JB Danquah, and speaks to the issue of Christian permanence on the African
continent. In other words, the National Cathedral project not only celebrates this historic
event, but in addition it provides the infrastructure, including the research networks, to
promote Christian permanence on the continent.

And this is particularly promoted by the second key initiative integrated into the project,
dubbed the Bible Museum of Africa (BMOA). Spanning over 150,000 square feet of
exhibition space, it will be the largest Bible Museum in the world focused on i) the role of
Africa, and Africans, in the Bible; and ii) the history and contemporary place of the church in
Africa and the African Diaspora. Among others, it will house all Bibles translated into African
languages; tell the story of the church in Africa, and the African Diaspora; and provide a
convening platform for discussions on the role of faith in Africa’s transformation (see
www.biblemuseumafrica.org). In essence, the distinguishing character of the BMOA is its
special thematic focus on “Africa, and Africans, in the Bible”, and “The Bible in Africa’. It will
also provide the history of the church in Ghana, Africa and the African Diaspora. For the
African Diaspora, it will tell the redemptive history of the misuse of the bible to dehumanize
the African and justify his/her enslavement, and the paradoxical deployment of the Bible as a
redemptive tool to build community and leadership for the civil rights movement. The history,
roles and impact of the Black church would also be told, offering the Diaspora a pathway –
mediated by faith - to reconnect with Africa. Potentially, therefore, it enables the development
of Ghana into a major site for religious pilgrimage – a religious hub and a home for African
Christianity.

Third the project has integrated a Biblical Gardens of Africa (BGOA). Covering a space of
about 10,000 square feet, it will include the Trees, Shrubs and Flowers of the Bible and
serve as a major resource for Christians in Ghana, and across the African continent
(www.biblemuseumafrica.org).

While the initial conceptual outline for the Bible Museum of Africa was developed by the
Secretariat of the National Cathedral project, the overall coordination for the development
of the Bible Museum is led by Cary Summers, the Founding President of the Museum of the
Bible (MOTB) in Washington DC. Following the approval of the Board for the integration of
the Bible Museum in the project, it appointed Cary Summers and the Nehemiah group as the
lead Consultant to coordinate its development into world class Bible Museum. A world class
design team, made up of Kubik Maltbie (www.kubikmaltbie.com); the PRD Group
(www.theprdgroup.com); Cortina Productions (www.cortinaproductions.com), Jonathan
Martin Creative (www.jonathanmartincreative.com) and other experts was put together to
develop the concept. An international expert group, led by Dr David Trobisch, provided
comparative scholarly input.

A National Research Working Group (RWG), made up of leading Ghanaian theologians and
practitioners, was set up by the Board to provide input for the international design team. The
input of the RWG was structured around three thematic teams, namely i) African Christianity
(chaired by Rev Prof Asamoah-Gyadu); Bible Translation in Africa (Chaired by Rev Prof
Gilbert Ansre & Rev Prof Ekem); and Governance (Rev Dr Alfred Koduah). Extensive weekly
zoom meetings, and two international physical meetings - namely i) a midterm review
meeting at the Museum of the Bible (MOTB) in Washington DC (July 12-13, 2021), and ii)
an international research meeting in Ghana (October 18-20, 2021) - provided the platform for
leading Ghanaian and African experts to engage the work of the international design team.
These engagements, as well as the extensive research by the design team, provided the
input for the concept design of the BMOA and BGOA, completed in 2022
(www.biblemuseumafrica.org).

Fourth, the Cathedral and Museum will also serve as a Convening Platform for National,
African, and Global conversations on the role of faith and national transformation. The goal
is to develop this into a global convening platform on questions of faith.

IV. THE PRESENT: AFFIRMING THE RELEVANCE OF THE NCG - NATION
If the present state of the National Cathedral calls for an affirmation of the project’s
relevance for the Church, it also calls for an affirmation of the relevance of the Cathedral for
national transformation. The project’s relevance to the country’s transformation is first
achieved through the integration of an economic engine that ensures that the project does
not become a white elephant dependent on donors for its activities and maintenance. This
“economic engine” consists of multiple revenue sources, including multipurpose rental
spaces, 1000+ seater banquet hall, conference center, a 350-seater restaurant, café, shop,
theaters, conference hall, etc., introduces a sustainable model for managing our national
monuments. To ensure that this happens, the Board of the National Cathedral has appointed
an Operations Consultant, Cary Summers, a businessman who successfully built and ran
the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, the Nazarite Village in Israel, and others, as
economically viable religious ventures. In effect, we are not going to "hope" that the National
Cathedral would be economically viable. We have consciously integrated the elements to
make it so, and did the economic impact analysis.

The project seeks to take Ghana step further beyond being a hub for financial services, trade
and industry, technology and digitization, healthcare and petroleum; and presents a new
paradigm to position Ghana as a pilgrimage hub for Africa. The National Cathedral opens
Ghana up as a gateway for religious tourism on the African continent and beyond. To be
built at an estimated cost of about $345 million (Cathedral - $265 million; Museum - $80
million); 85% of the total estimated cost of the Cathedral will be spent in Ghana (e.g.
equipment supply and labour). With a conservative estimate of 300,000 – 400,000 attendees
per year, we expect an annual Gross Impact on the Ghanaian economy between $ 300
Million - $400 Million for the next 5 years - totalling US$ 1,795,609,131 over 5 years.

The claims of structural transformation, including developing Ghana into a Hub for
religious pilgrimage and international tourism, is often derided and ridiculed,
including by Christians. Yet while we ridicule a project that should be the church’s
response in a majority Christian nation, the majority Islamic countries are busy
implementing such infrastructural projects to consolidate the Islamic identity of their
nations.

For instance, on 25 February 2024, Algeria inaugurated The Great Mosque of Algiers,
Djamaâ El-Djazaïr, the largest mosque in Africa, and the third largest in the world, behind
the al-Haram Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina. Financed by the
Algerian state with an initial budget of 1 billion euros (approximately 1.5 billion dollars), the
total cost was 898 million euros or nearly 2 billion dollars. The construction lasted for seven
years, and already it has become the cultural and religious heart of the city and boasts
120,000 visitors a day. The other example is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu
Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Opened in 2007 at the official cost of 545 million dollars, it has
become the second most visited religious site in the Middle East after Mecca -- with over 6
million visitors annually. Before the grand mosque, Abu Dhabi had no reputation as a
religious tourist site.

The National Cathedral should, therefore, be understood as a major addition to Ghana’s
nation-building infrastructure, including its church landscape. Its development brings
together the best expertise in the world, with the best in Ghana, with the objective of
producing a world-class experience that contributes to the country’s transformation.
The National Cathedral is therefore a major investment, rather than a vanity project,
that is going to saddle the country with debt. Rather than financial loss, it is a major
catalyst for economic transformation.

V. THE FUTURE: ACKNOWLEDGING THE FACILITATION OF THE STATE
If the Past and Present of the National Cathedral involves a negation, and an affirmation,
the future involves an acknowledgment of the critical role of the state in the development of
the National Cathedral. The role of the state has been a contested issue in the National
Cathedral. As indicated in the first section – the past - the National Cathedral Project was
conceived as a partnership between the state and the Ghanaian Christian community, with
the original proposal limiting the role of the state to the land. In operationalizing this
partnership, the role of the state was expanded to include the land, the Secretariat and
Seed Money. And this expanded role of the state was communicated to Parliament on
November 15, 2018 as part of the Budget Statement read in Parliament by the Minister for
Finance. The President had earlier already commissioned the Architect to provide the
background designs.

There is still some discomfort regarding the role of the state in the project. Yet, any realistic
strategy for the future of the National Cathedral would have to address this role of the state.
And this would involve coming to terms with the critical role of the state in facilitating the
construction and completion of the project. Given the scope and cost of the National
Cathedral, the state is the actor in the country with the capacity to facilitate access to the
financing needed to complete the project. And the church in Ghana has contributed enough
to the development of this country to expect the state to facilitate the completion of the
project, including a possible extension of the Seed Money.

This is more so against the background of what we have witnessed the past 9 months in
state support for Islam in the country. This support includes:

• AN EXTRA NATIONAL HOLIDAY for Muslims, with its economic impact of shutting
down the economy.

• HAJJ DEBTS: One of the earliest decisions of the new administration was the
announcement by the President that the government was paying off “Millions of
dollars” of accumulated Hajj debt in Saudi Arabia. No audit of how the debt was
accumulated, nor of past Hajj expenditure.

• RESTRUCTURING HAJJ: Inauguration of new Hajj Board by the President.

• ARABIC TEACHERS ON GOVERNMENT PAYROLL: 3000 Arabic teachers have
been integrated into the national payroll, with the promise that this will be increased
to 30,000 in three years.

• HAJJ VILLAGE: Ongoing to facilitate Hajj.

• SCHOLARSHIPS FOR MUSLIMS to study Medicine, Law and IT.

It is important to stress that the Church should not be against this support of the state for
Islam in the country per se, more so as the Supreme Court’s January 23, 2019 judgment on
the National Cathedral and Hajj Board affirmed that in our secular democracy, whose
citizens are historically and aspirational religious, it is legitimate for the state to support
religious activity and institutions.

What is being stressed is that this support of the state for Islam, whose adherents constitute
less than 20 percent of the population, should extend to support for the Christianity, whose
adherents constitute more than 70 percent of our population. Simply put, what is good for the
goose should also be good for the gander. The church in Ghana has done enough, and
continues to do enough for the country, to ask the state to facilitate the construction and
completion of the National Cathedral.

VI. CONCLUSION
In a September 24, 2025 presentation to the leadership of the Christian Council of Ghana on
advocacy for the National Cathedral, we argued that an effective advocacy by the church
should involve four elements, namely i) identification with and ownership of the vision for the
National Cathedral, ii) Depolarizing discussions on the National Cathedral project, iii)
mobilizing the church, and iv) advocating for state patronage and facilitation.
The discussion today on the Present, Past, and Future of the project has sought to provide a
further elaboration of the context and background for this advocacy role of the church for the
National Cathedral. Respectively, the Past of the project requires a Negation of the narrative
of deception; the Present calls for an Affirmation of the relevance of the project to church
and country; and the Future requires an Acknowledgment of the facilitation of the state for
the completion of the National Cathedral.

Thank you