The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has stated that the National Cathedral can help boost the economy. He thinks it’s important to view the project as an economic venture because, once finished, it could generate millions of dollars in tax revenue.
Ofori-Atta stated that the issues surrounding the cathedral’s construction should be carefully reevaluated because they could hinder the government’s efforts to boost Ghana’s tourist industry.
While addressing the Ghana Tourism Investment Summit 2023, Ofori-Atta stated that the National Cathedral possesses the capacity to construct strong infrastructure that can contribute to economic expansion.
“How do you build a society in which the economic engine is growing, and how do you contain that within the spiritual realm that ensures stability in the ages to come? And so, even as we look at something like the National Cathedral that has economic benefits beyond what we see, both in Israel and the Hajj, they realise about $6 billion to $8 billion a year, and in Africa, we have some 600 million people who are Christians, so imagine Ghana as the new Jerusalem. It will be a different reality,” he stated.
He went on to say that the government is still dedicated to changing the arts and tourism sectors because of the multiplier effect they have on the economy. The cathedral project has been put on hold because there is insufficient funding.
On the other hand, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, has criticised the National Cathedral project, calling it the most scandalous, sacrilegious, irresponsible, and corrupt undertaking in the country’s history.
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