Parliament suspends approval of GHS80 million meant for construction of the National Cathedral

The approval of GH80 million set aside for the National Cathedral's building has been delayed by the Trades and Industry Committee of Parliament. The Committee claims that the reason behind the particular allocation is a closely held secret.
According to Committee member Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, the estimates won't be accepted until they are happy with the responses to the many questions they are posing.

"The Committee determined that in order to properly approve this GH80 million, we must also be aware of how the GH339 million was spent. What was it made of?

How did the GH80 million you want us to approve fit into the Ministry of Tourism's budget line when the Minister and the directors were unable to respond to our inquiries? They should provide us with a breakdown of what the GH 80 million is made up of," he said in an interview with Kwaku Asante, JoyNews' Parliamentary Affairs Correspondent, on Tuesday, December 13.

The MP stated that the Committee has requested an explanation from the Finance Minister and other interested parties over the GH339 million already spent on the National Cathedral.

"We are inviting the people who spent the money, the Secretariat, and the Minister of Finance to come and explain to us how they used those funds," the statement reads. If not, it would be impermissible for us to authorize this, he said.
Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed also asserted that the Minister and Ministry technocrats were not informed of the allocation, which the Presidency allegedly pushed on the Ministry. He claimed that the technocrats from the MoT were unable to give the Committee a breakdown of the allocation.

Is it true that the Flagstaff House imposed it on the Minister and the Ministry? I have a feeling that's what happened because, if it hadn't been, the Minister, the Directors, and the Chief Directors—all of whom were present—should have been able to provide us the answers. Instead, they were unable to do so, which makes it absurd, he continued.

The Finance Minister's proposed appropriation bill for the 2023 budget, which contained the GH80 million allotment for the National Cathedral, has not yet been approved by Parliament.