President John Mahama says the National Cathedral project was a personal pledge made by former President Nana Akufo-Addo to God and was not a government policy that his administration is obliged to continue.

He said although his government has committed to continuing projects and policies inherited from the previous administration where they are in the public interest, the National Cathedral does not fall into that category.

“The only one is the National Cathedral, but that was not a national policy. It was a personal pledge by the former president. It was a personal pledge by the former president to God. So that one, it wasn't national policy,” President Mahama said.

He was speaking at a citizens’ engagement during his tour of the Upper West Region.

President Mahama stressed that his position should not be construed as opposition to the construction of a National Cathedral.

“I am a Christian myself. I have nothing against having a national cathedral,” he said.

However, he maintained that taxpayers’ money should not be used to finance the project, arguing that Christians in Ghana should be capable of mobilising the necessary resources.

“My second problem was that we shouldn't use taxpayers' money,” he said.

“I mean, how many Christians are in this country? If we all pay 1,000 cedis each, we should be able to construct a national cathedral,” he added.

The President also cited concerns about the location of the project, saying the area already accommodates several major public institutions and facilities.

“My principle has always been that the location has been a problem,” he said.

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He mentioned Parliament, the International Conference Centre, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and the National Theatre as some of the facilities in the area.

“So normally during ceremonies, you have the stadium not far, and that's the way we used to go to Black Star Square. So if you go and put this major thing there again, it will constrict that whole area,” he said.

President Mahama further criticised the demolition of properties to clear the site, including 10 judges’ residences, the residence of the Malian Ambassador and the old passport office.

“My problem was also that the amount of destruction we had to cause to clear the area; broke 10 judges' residences.

“We broke the Malian Ambassador's residence. Up to now, we've not replaced it. And several other properties, the old passport office, all of them were demolished to make way for a national cathedral,” he said.

He also disclosed that a forensic audit into the National Cathedral project had been completed and was currently with the Attorney General.

President Mahama said a copy would be made available to the Christian Council to enable it to examine how almost $90 million was spent on the project and consider possible corrective measures.

“The forensic audit is ready; it's with the Attorney General, and I'll make a copy of it available to the Christian Council so that they can look at the processes of what went into the expenditure of the 90 million dollars, so that if there's any corrective action, we can take it together,” he said.

His comments come after the Christian Council of Ghana announced on Friday, September 11, that it had constituted a technical committee comprising representatives from various Christian groupings to explore ways of reviving the stalled National Cathedral project.

The committee has one month to develop a practical funding model for the project and make recommendations on its proposed location and other outstanding issues.