OP‑ED — By Daniel Nii Okine
One year and seven months into the NDC administration, and already Hon. Mahama Ayariga is dancing dangerously close to a political fire that needs no rekindling. For a government elected on the raw anger of citizens who demanded accountability, transparency, and an end to national waste, even whispering about the National Cathedral is not just reckless , it is political self‑sabotage of the highest order.
Let’s stop tiptoeing: Ghanaians punished the NPP at the polls largely because of this Cathedral fiasco , a project soaked in secrecy, arrogance, and financial indiscipline.
Throughout the campaign, President John Dramani Mahama and every credible voice in the NDC stood firm, loud, and unmovable against what many saw as a shrine to misgovernance. The message to voters was unmistakable: no more waste, no more impunity, and a full forensic reckoning for every cedi poured into that bottomless pit in Accra.
So why, in the name of political sanity, is Hon. Ayariga suddenly entertaining conversations with the Christian Council? Why signal even a molecule of willingness to revisit a project that became the national symbol of elite excess?
Over $90 million of taxpayer money has already evaporated into this so‑called Cathedral , leaving behind a giant hole, a trail of unanswered questions, and a nation still seething.
It was a scheme designed to drain public resources, and this administration must never, under any circumstance, reopen that cursed chapter.
If the Christian Council believes a Cathedral is a divine priority, they are free , absolutely free , to mobilize their congregations, raise funds, buy land, and build it privately. Ghana is not hostile to religious expression. But the state must be nowhere near this project. Not a pesewa. Not a signature. Not a meeting. Not a hint.
Ghanaians are demanding a forensic audit, not a resurrection of a scandal. The government cannot call the project a scam on Monday and then flirt with religious bodies about “possibilities” on Tuesday. That is not diplomacy , it is political confusion and suicide .
Hon. Ayariga must slam this door shut. Not gently. Not politely. Slam it. Bolt it. Seal it. Ghana is battling economic pressure, infrastructural decay, and social demands that require every ounce of governmental focus. Re‑igniting the Cathedral controversy is a distraction the nation neither wants nor will tolerate.
The people voted for change, integrity, and fiscal discipline. Do not test their patience Hon. Mahama Ayariga .
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