Policy analyst and Vice President of Imani Africa, Selorm Branttie, has lashed out at the government over the construction of the controversial National Cathedral, which is now in limbo. He described the execution of the National Cathedral as a “pointless exercise” which was “horribly planned.” During an interview on The Big Issue on Citi TV/Citi FM, Mr. Branttie said, “No cathedral has been built within four years, regardless of the amount of technology that is now available. So right from the get-go, this was a project that was horribly thought through, horribly planned, and horribly executed so far. Like the tower of Babel, it was a pointless exercise. The repercussions are actually a monument to our collective failures as a nation.” Asked if the National Cathedral should be handed over to the church, the Vice President of IMANI Africa suggested that the monies spent so far on the Cathedral should be accounted for. “I also align with the calls of the clergy, those who just resigned from the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral, that there has been a lot of partial misrepresentation with regard to the intentions of the government, especially President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his aides and all those who support the building of the Cathedral. Before anything can be handed over, every cedi that was spent on this project must be accounted for,” he told Selorm Adonoo, host of The Big Issue. We must know where all the monies came from, who the monies went to, all the subcontractors, and the beneficiary owners of the entities that were all contracted. So that we can have a very clear idea of where the money went. Without that, we cannot hand anything over,” he told Selorm Adonoo, host of The Big Issue. The Founder and General Overseer of United Denominations of Action Chapel Churches Worldwide, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, and President of the Eastwood Anaba Ministries, Rev. Eastwood Anaba, on October 12, resigned from the Board of Trustees overseeing the construction of the National Cathedral in Ghana. The founder and leader of the Lighthouse Chapel International, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, also resigned from the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral project in August 2022. The National Cathedral, a project initiated to serve as a national place of worship and a symbol of unity and pride for Ghanaians, has been a subject of debate and controversy since its inception.

The Paramount Chief of Asogli, Togbe Afede XIV, has expressed concerns about the devastating flood caused by the spillage of the Akosombo dam.

Commiserating with the affected victims during a visit to some communities on Saturday, he expressed sympathy for them.

“We are all one people, we are all Ghanaians, and we are all from Volta Region, our lives are inextricably linked, so whatever impacts our people here, positively or negatively, has implications for all of us as well. Indeed, meeting the people, talking to the chief, some individuals, it’s really a bad thing they are living through. To have woken up one day and lost your property, or house, it’s very difficult in our country. It’s hard to imagine their plight, I have tried so many times to imagine that in my shoes.”

He stressed, “This could have been avoided. Standing right at GRIDCO sub-station almost fully submerged, we have seen the situation in people’s homes, it’s really mind-boggling. They will live with the pain for some time. It’s not that it will have a clear path and go down the slope, this will be stagnant water for a very long time. People cannot go about their jobs as they used to do, schooling, and working, are all disrupted. People are suffering from the kind of things they eat. Truly, my heart, our hearts go out to them, we want to be able to stand by them, it’s a difficult moment and that is why we are here. We indeed share in their pains.”

Togbe Afede XIV called on Ghanaians to support the affected persons in every little way they can.

“It behoves all of us as Ghanaians to share in their pains and see what we can do as individuals to alleviate their sufferings. We are happy the MP and the chiefs are doing their best. And we all should take it very seriously.”

He promised to support the fund created by the MP for the area and the chiefs.

“We have come to lend our widow’s mite to them, in an attempt to alleviate their problems to minimize their sufferings. We will give cash donations to support the fund, as the first attempt by us, and we have contributed GH¢100,000, towards that,” he said.

He advised the Volta River Authority (VRA) to measure the flow of water into the dam as well as the water that goes to spillways.

“I would expect the authorities should be able to measure the flow of water into the dam and in some cases predict the flow and what is happening upstream. They should be able to plan short, medium and long term. When was the last time we dredged the estuary? The conditions of the estuary should be known”.

He called for compensation for the affected victims.

Source: citinewsroom.com