Duncan-Williams, Eastwood Anaba call for suspension of National Cathedral

Two revered church founders, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams and Reverend Eastwood Anaba have called for the immediate suspension and auditing of the National Cathedral project.

The two clergymen, who are members of the Board of Trustees for the National Cathedral, have stated that the controversies surrounding the project have made it imminent to consider suspending the project to enable proper auditing, transparency and accountability to the citizens.

In a memo sent to the Board of Trustees on Monday, January 23, they called for an independent audit into the project’s expenditures.

The two respected preachers said the auditor(s) must be one that is nationally recognised.

“That, in the spirit and cause of transparency and accountability to the Ghanaian people, the current Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral shall appoint an independent, nationally recognised accounting firm to audit all public funds contributed to and spent by the National Cathedral.

“Auditors will also audit the overall cost of the project. This appointment of an auditor shall take place before the deferment of activities of the Board of Trustees,” excerpts of the memo said.

Subsequently, the clergymen called for the suspension of the project until the current economic conditions of the country improve.

“That current activities advancing the construction of Ghana’s National Cathedral shall be deferred until the atmospherics in Ghana are improved, and the audit of the Cathedral account is done,” excerpts of the memo added.

The National Cathedral project has been one of the most controversial public issues since the project was first announced by President Akufo-Addo.

Apart from questions of accountability which have been repeatedly raised by the Minority in Parliament, there have also been concerns about the relevance of the project in the face of the country’s economic crisis.

Amidst the plethora of issues, the founder of the LightHouse Chapel International, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, resigned from the Cathedral’s Board of Trustees in August 2022.