Ghana’s government will investigate controversial plans to build a $400m (£330m) national cathedral, new President John Mahama has said.
Pressure has been mounting on authorities to drop the project, which has divided opinions in a country experiencing an economic crisis.
Former President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose party was voted out during December’s elections, had pledged to build the cathedral after crediting God for his party’s success in 2016.
Akufo-Addo’s government said the cathedral would be privately funded, but $58m of taxpayers’ money has so far been spent on the project.
There is nothing to show for this sum but a huge crater in a plot of valuable land in central Accra, previously occupied by state buildings, judges’ homes and financial firms.
Ghana is a deeply religious country, where 70% of people are Christians.
The National Cathedral of Ghana was envisioned to be a sacred space for all Christians, where national religious services could take place. It is also intended to house a Bible museum and a national conference centre.
At a thanksgiving service on Sunday, Mahama said: “The commission on human rights and administrative justice (CHRAJ) directed government to audit the project and investigate any misuse of public funds. We would soon activate such an investigation into the project.”
However, he did not rule out finishing the cathedral.
“We can reach a more reasonable figure for achieving such a project and together we can raise the funding for it,” he said.
“Such a reconsideration of this project might even include changing the current site that was chosen for the project. The project must be achieved at a reasonable cost, in the current circumstances that Ghana is going through, it makes no sense to achieve a project at a whopping sum of $400m.”
On Monday, new Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson suggested public money would no longer be used for the project, telling a parliamentary committee that the government “would work to cut off wasteful expenditure and the national cathedral project is one of them”.
Ghana has been hit by its worst economic crisis in a generation and last year received a $3bn (£2.5bn) bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The rate at which the price of goods is rising, or inflation, has improved significantly since the bailout, but is still high at 23.8%.
Work on the cathedral had stalled after contractors wrote to the government, saying they were unwilling to continue due to a lack of payment.
Prior to December’s elections, Mahama had hinted that if he became president, he would launch an investigation into the project and decide whether or not to continue with it.
But while his NDC party was in opposition, its caucus in parliament urged Akuffo-Addo to completely “terminate the contract for the project”.
NDC lawmaker Kwabena Mintah Akandoh had asked: “Where is the wisdom in building a cathedral when there are more pressing needs in the country across sectors like health and education?
“I do not think any reasonable person expects John Mahama to build a cathedral. People are dying from cholera and other diseases, why focus on a cathedral?”
The building has also sparked concern among senior clergymen involved with the project.
Five members of the cathedral’s board of trustees have resigned amid calls for the government to halt the project and conduct an audit.
