Professor Gyampo Urges Mahama to Focus on National Recovery Instead of Building Cathedral

Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has advised former President John Dramani Mahama against the idea of constructing a cathedral for Ghana, particularly at a time when the country is grappling with significant economic challenges.

In a public letter addressed to the current administration, Gyampo emphasized the urgency of addressing the country’s fiscal difficulties and the need to prioritize national recovery over symbolic projects.

Gyampo’s comments were made in the context of what he described as the “hole” created by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government’s economic policies, suggesting that rather than pursuing grand projects like the cathedral, attention should be directed toward resolving the nation’s financial distress. According to the professor, the priority should be to address the pressing issues that are currently hindering the country’s progress, and Mahama’s leadership must focus on strategies that will fill this “hole” rather than divert attention to a monumental religious structure.

Further amplifying his point, Gyampo proposed that the end-of-service benefits for President Akufo-Addo be repurposed to help alleviate some of the financial strain, jokingly referring to the hole as “the most expensive hole in the world.” His open letter underscores the deep frustration many Ghanaians feel as the country faces mounting economic challenges, urging political leaders to make pragmatic decisions that directly benefit the people rather than focusing on grand gestures at a time of hardship.

This call from Gyampo adds to the ongoing public discourse around national priorities, urging leaders to consider the immediate needs of Ghanaians, particularly in light of the nation’s debt and economic difficulties. As political figures continue to navigate these challenges, Gyampo’s words serve as a reminder to put the country’s recovery first, and to remain grounded in the realities faced by the citizens they serve.

Read Letter Below:

Open Letter to President Mahama on the Botched National Cathedral

Dear President Mahama,

Please, did you promise God that you will build a National Cathedral for Him, should you be elected again as President? Are you the Son of Mr Akufo Addo, like Solomon, the son of David who built a temple for God when his father wasn’t permitted to do so? Is the construction of a National Cathedral a priority concern for national development at this time that many have been impoverished because of greed, loot and unprecedented bad governance by your predecessor?

If your answers to the above are a NO, then please cover that expensive hole, using the end of service benefits of Mr Akufo Addo to defray part of the cost and let people culpable be charged for causing financial loss to the state. Your speech at a ceremony held at UPSA over the weekend, is stoking some debate but there’s no need to stoke any national debate on whether to continue that project or not.

Sir, I respectfully remind you that the overwhelming mandate of the people given to you, necessarily took cognizance of the uselessness of such an unprioritized project that was initiated as a result of Mr Akufo Addo’s very private talks with his maker, at a time when you and I and the rest of Ghanaians were not there. It must be remembered that the one who made the promise said he told God he wasn’t going to use our money to do so, but ended up going contrary to this in a very deceitful manner.

Mr President, you were not elected to fulfill Mr Akufo Addo’s private promise to his maker. You didn’t make that promise and you are not the son of Mr Akufo Addo. God hasn’t told you to continue that project. If He tells you, we will hear. So, let the idea of whether to continue the project, relocate it, or look for funding elsewhere for it, never come up for discussion. If there is money to be sourced elsewhere, let it be sourced for projects that addresses the immediate needs of the Ghanaian people and justifies the overwhelming confidence they have reposed in you.

The expectations are high and there’s no time to waste. So, for starters, kindly do the restructuring of the free SHS programme, now that Heads of Assisted Schools are able to speak up freely without fear of being sacked or transferred. Also, let all looters of state money, lands, property etc be dealt with swiftly, and in accordance of law. Beyond your letter and instructions to the Lands Commission to halt all sale of state lands and provide you with a report of the state of affairs on state lands, please let all disrespectful officials at lands commission who are flouting orders given them; disrespectful bulldozer operators who are still demolishing state buildings; and all stubborn building contractors who are building on looted state lands nocturnally, be dealt with ruthlessly according to law, to deter future disrespect of the power and authority of your Presidency. Then let all other things follow in accordance with how urgent they are.

I conclude by respectfully urging you once again not to entertain any idea of a national cathedral for Ghana for now. I am a supporter of the Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in Chapter Six of the 1992 Constitution, which inter alia, enjoins successor regimes to continue developmental projects initiated by predecessors. But I have engaged some of the members whose work and recommendations led to the drafting of the 1992 Constitution, and I can say without equivocation that, their ideas that birthed Chapter Six of our Constitution never included the private promises of presidential aspirants to their maker. So, sir, your only thinking about the National Cathedral, should be how to cover that expensive hole, using Mr Akufo Addo’s end of service entitlements to settle part of the bill, and how to bring to book all those culpable of causing financial loss to the state.

I thank you and I wish you well as you govern to leave a positive legacy for Ghanaians and for yourself. God bless.

It is Me

Yaw Gyampo

A31, Prabiw

PAV Ansah Street

Saltpond

&

Suro Nipa House

Behind Old Post Office

Larteh-Akuapim