The minority members of the Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee of Parliament have won by a majority decision to reject the GH¢80 million additional budgetary allocation for the National Cathedral.
The allocation for the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture was contained in the Appropriations Bill of the 2023 fiscal policy.
According to Ranking Member on the Committee, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, officials from the Tourism Ministry failed to account for the over GH¢339 million already spent on the project.
He said they also failed to convincingly answer the committee’s questions about the allocation.
“We asked for a vote, and I think today God was on the people of Ghana’s side. We voted, and we were in the majority,” Mr Armah-Kofi Buah said.
At the time of voting, the minority side was more than the majority members.
The minority, therefore, won by 11-10 majority votes.
However, other budget allocations for the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture were approved.
The Ranking Member, however, worried that the majority may overturn the decision with their numbers when it is put before the plenary.
Meanwhile, he assured Ghanaians that no money from government coffers would be pumped into the National Cathedral project.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, a member of the committee, had earlier said that the current economic crisis must be the main focus of the government and not the building of a National Cathedral.