National Cathedral In Limbo As 200 Workers Sacked Over Lack Of Funds

Work on the National Cathedral has come to a halt months after the project contractors RIBADE Company LTD, allegedly sacked over 200 of its workers over a lack of funds.

The site for the edifice, which is a 14.5-acre land next to the Parliament House of Ghana has come to a halt after the government spent about GH¢200 million on the project.

A letter dated March 14, 2022, signed by the project manager, Grant Ramsay, making rounds on social media, asked all the workers to return every property in their possession to the Human Resource office.

It stated that it was only complying with portions in the contract which enjoins them to mitigate costs since they were not receiving funds for the project.

Part of the letter reads “Due to the lack of payment from the National Cathedral of Ghana which has resulted in the project being suspended, RIBADE COMPANY LTD is required under the contract to mitigate costs.”

“In compliance with such an obligation under the contract, RIBADE COMPANY LTD has no option but to issue this letter of notice terminating the agreement between RIBADE COMPANY LTD and you as per the provisions of your employment agreement.

“This notice of termination takes effect on the 14th of March 2022 you are therefore requested to hand in all properties (i.e safety equipment, etc) belonging to the company in your possession to the HR office by close of work of the same day,” it added.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, accompanied by senior members of the Clergy, laid the foundation stone for the Cathedral on March 5, 2020, to signal the start of construction.

The National Cathedral was proposed by the government in March 2017 and is expected to be a physical embodiment of national unity, harmony, and spirituality.

A National Cathedral Secretariat has been set up to raise funds from individuals and the private sector for its construction, while work continues apace.

The cathedral will house a series of impressive chapels, a baptistery, a 5000-seat two-level auditorium, a grand central hall, music school, choir rehearsal, art gallery, shop, and multi-use spaces.

It will also be home to Africa’s first Bible Museum and Documentation Centre, dedicated to Christianity and nation-building in Ghana.

A board of trustees to supervise its construction was inaugurated in March 2017 and is chaired by a former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana, Most Rev. Samuel Asante Antwi, with the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, the Most Rev. Charles Palmer-Buckle, as Vice-Chairperson, and the Founder and General Overseer of Power Chapel Worldwide, Prophet Kusi Boateng, as Secretary.