A prominent member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Kobina Arthur Kennedy, has stated that the next President of Ghana, following Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, should exercise wisdom and abandon the National Cathedral project.

He believes that the project represents a misallocation of resources, and it would not be prudent to continue investing in what he views as a misguided endeavor.

Dr. Kennedy, a former NPP flagbearer aspirant, expressed his views during an appearance on TV3's Ghana Tonight on Wednesday, October 18.

His comments come in the wake of the resignation of two board members, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams and Reverend Eastwood Anaba, who cited the lack of an audit of the project since their request in January as their reason for stepping down.

The National Cathedral Secretariat responded by clarifying that they had engaged the international accounting and auditing firm Deloitte to conduct the audit, and the two clergymen were aware of this.

“The attention of the Secretariat of the National Cathedral project has been drawn to a letter addressed to the President – sighted in the media before Board members received copies – of the resignation of two of the members of the Board, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams and Rev Eastwood Anaba,” the reply in a statement dated Wednesday, October 18 began.

“The reason given in the letter for their resignation is said to be the lack of any information, whatsoever, following their January 23, 2023 resolution calling for an audit of the National Cathedral project, and a complete cessation of work on the project,” the statement signed by Executive Director Dr Paul Opoku-Mensah further noted.

Dr. Arthur Kennedy's position is that the project was flawed from the outset because President Akufo-Addo had misled the Ghanaian public.

He considers the current state of the project as emblematic of the government's reckless management of entrusted resources and a lack of care for the welfare of the Ghanaian people.

The US-based medical practitioner, therefore, advises the next President, to be elected on December 7, 2024, to discontinue the National Cathedral project.

He argued that continuing to invest in it would be wasteful, as he asserts that the money already spent has been squandered.

“If the person is wise, he would abandon it because this is sand cost. That’s what my economist friends tell me and we should not throw good money after bad money.

“This money has been wasted and the more money we put in this, the more wastage we will get,” he added.

He suggests redirecting the estimated $400 million, which has been invested in the project thus far, towards improving tourism infrastructure, such as constructing major hotels in the Cape Coast area, upgrading the Cape Coast-Accra road, and rehabilitating historical sites like Asebu Kwamankese.

Dr. Kennedy believes that constructing a Bible museum in sub-Saharan Africa is unlikely to attract tourists who typically visit major cathedrals in Europe.

He emphasized the need for a thorough audit of the project, suspecting that the funds contributed by Ghanaians have been misappropriated and misused.