Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, President of Ghana has indicated that the conditionality associated with IMF’s loan has the tendency to affect the execution of some of its flagship projects.
This, he said while interacting with the Western Regional House of Chiefs yesterday, Monday, January 30, 2023.
Infrastructural works like the National Cathedral and its Agenda 111, the President highlighted, may have their completion timelines affected.
“We need to ensure that all capital expenditure projects are completed, but there will be some temporary delays while we are making the agreements with the IMF, and that is what we are experiencing now but at the end of the day we will get an arrangement that allows us to continue the projects.”
Akuffo-Addo
President Akuffo-Addo made these remarks while speaking during the Western Regional House of Chiefs meeting, held at the Jubilee House yesterday, January 30, 2023.
Continuing, the President further emphasized that IMF’s balance of payment support to the nation will go a long way to help the country.
Despite predicting delays on completion of these capital projects, the President gave the assurance that the capital expenditure projects will continue but may experience some delays.
There have however been several controversies following government’s announcement to establish these projects most especially, the National Cathedral which has attracted so much attention.
From the opinions and concerns raised so far on the project, many think the government should be more focused on eroding its innumerable expenditures rather than introducing more, considering the distressing financial and economic situation of the state.
Ghanaians think the government should focus on cutting down expenditures
Just yesterday, January 30, 2023, some members of the Registered Nurses and Midwives Association asked the government to halt the construction of the National Cathedral and instead, focus on cutting down expenditure to save the country its current economic tantrums.
Perpetual Ofori, President of the Association suggested that government focuses on sealing the loopholes in revenue generation.
Yvonne Nelson, Ghana’s movie star and screen goddess termed the National Cathedral project as a ‘misplaced priority’.
She holds the view that should the government want to embark on any project, considering the country’s current economic state, it should be in the educational or health sectors.
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, strongly against the project, also claimed that the National Cathedral project will cost the taxpayer a total of $1 billion and not $400 million as claimed by the government and members of the board of Trustees.
Mr. Ablakwa, who has been seen on several occasions raising issues with regards to the relevance of the National Cathedral in an interview said that the $400 million being cited around by the government as the total cost of the project completely ignores several other factors that shoot the total cost past $1 billion.
“We were told by the Finance Minister that the project will cost $100 million, then the figure rose to $150 million. The Chairman, Opoku Onyinah later mentioned $200 million but now based on fresh documents, I have realized the project is going to cost the Ghanaian taxpayer about $1 billion.
“The same amount former president Mahama used to set up the Ghana Gas project, which is earning us about $400 million a year.”
Mr. Ablakwa
Despite the numerous oppositions to the National Cathedral project, the President, against all odds promised on countless occasions that he will ensure the completion of the National Cathedral before his tenure ends in January 2025.
The National Cathedral and Agenda 111 projects
The National Cathedral, one of the key capital projects of the government is a planned interdenominational Christian cathedral scheduled to be built in Accra, the nation’s capital, as part of Ghana’s 60th anniversary celebrations.
It will house a series of impressive chapels, a baptistery, a 5000-seat two-level auditorium, a grand central hall, music school, choir rehearsal, art gallery, shop and multi-use spaces.
The Cathedral will be situated within 9 acres of newly landscaped gardens adjacent to Osu Cemetery and also promises to be home for Africa’s first Bible Museum and Documentation Centre, dedicated to Christianity and nation-building in Ghana.
The Agenda 111 project, which is also another big agenda on government’s project list, as envisioned by the President is to ensure that Ghanaians in every district and region in the country have access to quality healthcare services.
The project includes 101 district hospitals, six regional hospitals in the newly created regions, two specialized hospitals in the middle and northern belts, as well as a regional hospital in the Western Region and renovation of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital.
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