Ghana president John Mahama has announced an investigation into the funding of the unbuilt National Cathedral of Ghana in Accra, designed by architect David Adjaye‘s studio.
Ghana’s government is set to investigate the controversial project as around $58 million of taxpayer’s money been spent on the $400 million cathedral despite construction not starting, reported the BBC.
According to the BBC, former president Nana Akufo-Addo claimed the building, which was commissioned in 2018 while he was in power, would be privately funded.
John Mahama has announced an investigation into “misuse of public funds” for the National Cathedral of Ghana
If built, the landmark project designed by architecture studio Adjaye Associates will have a concave roof topping a 5,000-seat auditorium.
Following the commission, the studio led by British-Ghanaian architect Adjaye opened an office in Accra, joining its branches in London and New York.
Adjaye Associates was dropped from a number of projects in 2023, including the Africa Institute in Sharjah and the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, after three former employees accused Adjaye of sexual misconduct. Adjaye denies the allegations.
Adjaye Associates revealed its design for the cathedral in 2018
The National Cathedral of Ghana has long been a controversial project with many questioning whether it was a priority when it was unveiled in 2018.
Later Ghanaian members of parliament (MPs) accused Akufo-Addo of illegally hiring Adjaye Associates to design the building.
MPs from the National Democratic Congress – the opposition party at the time – claimed that the studio was “sole-sourced” for the project and accused Akufo-Addo’s New Patriotic Party parliament of unjustly using state money to pay for the design work.
A reported $58 million of taxpayer’s money has been spent on the project so far
Mahama, the National Democratic Congress leader who was sworn in as president for the second time earlier this month, announced his plans to investigate the National Cathedral of Ghana on 12 January.
“The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) directed government to audit the project and investigate any misuse of public funds,” Mahama said, reported the BBC. “We would soon activate such an investigation into the project.”
The project was set to be a landmark building for Accra, containing a series of chapels, a baptistery, a 5,000-seat auditorium, a music school, an art gallery and Africa’s first bible museum.
The building site is currently vacant with construction work yet to commence, following the demolition of state buildings, judges’ homes and buildings for financial practices.
The building site currently stands empty
Amid an economic crisis, demolition work on the site halted after workers refused to continue due to a lack of payment, according to the BBC.
In his speech, Mahama said the National Cathedral of Ghana could be completed at a “more reasonable” price.
Mahama has not ruled out completing the National Cathedral of Ghana
“We can reach a more reasonable figure for achieving such a project and together we can raise the funding for it,” Mahama said.
“Such a reconsideration of this project might even include changing the current site that was chosen for the project,” he continued
“The project must be achieved at a reasonable cost, in the current circumstances that Ghana is going through, it makes no sense to achieve a project at a whopping sum of $400 million.”
Adjaye Associates declined to comment on the news.
Elsewhere in Accra, architecture studio DeRoché Strohmayer converted a deteriorating house into an artist retreat, and designers Baerbel Mueller and Juergen Strohmayer created a concrete gallery extension for the Nubuke Foundation.
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