play videoVice President of IMANI-Africa, Bright Simons

Renowned policy analyst and Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, presented a critical assessment of the costs and benefits of Ghana’s National Cathedral project during a speech to the Project Management Institute (Ghana Chapter) in Accra on February 28, 2025.

During his presentation, Simons projected that the controversial project would have cost the country at least $1.2 billion, while generating less than $100 million in economic benefits over its projected lifespan.

He showed from his analysis that the Cathedral project raises serious concerns about its financial viability, which has been mired in controversy since its inception.

Even though supporters have often argued that critics focus only on the costs without considering the returns on investment, Simons emphasised that any potential benefits would be negligible compared to the heavily underestimated costs.

Simons further detailed the methodology behind his cost-benefit analysis, stressing that his projections were based on realistic assessments of all likely expenditures and potential benefits, not just direct monetary revenues.

He also questioned the rationale behind investing such a vast sum in a project that, according to his calculations, would burden Ghana with further losses and liabilities even after the hefty upfront investment.

Simons expressed disappointment that, despite the intense public interest surrounding the project, “even a basic Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) was never conducted.”

He argued that beyond the governance, procurement, and accountability issues, the project was also a massive financial liability.

Bright Simons during his presentation showed that supporters of the project have over the years grossly overestimated potential revenue, falsely claiming that visitor numbers and payments would exceed those of some of the world’s most iconic historical cathedrals, such as Canterbury and St. Paul’s, which have taken more than a decade to generate significant earnings.

Simons also reminded the audience that other large state-owned event-hosting facilities, such as the National Theatre and the Accra International Conference Center, have struggled for years to generate enough revenue even for basic maintenance and have had to rely on state subsidies to stay afloat.

His latest findings add to widespread public skepticism over the rationale for completing the discredited and stalled project, even as the nation awaits a forensic audit into wasted funds, a probe promised by the President John Dramani.

So far, over $58 million has been paid to architects and contractors, yet there is little to show for it. Additionally, debts remain outstanding to contractors and individuals whose properties were demolished to make way for the ill-fated project.

The National Cathedral project, championed by the erstwhile Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government, was intended to serve as a national symbol of faith and unity.

However, it has faced intense scrutiny over funding transparency, procurement abuses, public deception, stalled construction, and concerns about long-term sustainability.

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File photo: The group is calling on MoFAD to urgently step in to curb the devastating practice

Illegal fishing activities along Ghana’s coast have in recent times reached an alarming rate, a factor contributing largely to the wanton depletion of the fish stock.

The operations of Chinese vessels, especially Pair-Trawlers are also increasing the situation, raising concerns about the commitment of relevant institutions in enforcing fishing laws and regulatory frameworks.

Against this backdrop, a group of fishers calling itself the Concerned Net Owners Association, which operates at the Denu Landing Beach in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta region has raised critical concerns about the dominant practice, calling on the Ministry of Fisheries and Aqua Culture Development (MoFAD) to urgently step in to curb the devastating practice.

In a petition addressed to the sector minister and copied to relevant institutions, the group pointed accusing fingers at their counterparts at Adina, a major fishing community in the Municipality who according to them were deeply involved in the use of Poly nets for their activities (which importation and use was banned since 1994, by the then Jerry Rawlings led administration.

“Adina, for example, has over 300 Poly nets operating at that landing beach alone – Meanwhile, the approved measurement of Poly nets required for weaving our nets is just 50 yards – nowadays, you could count up to 500 yards from beginning to the end of the fishing nets,” lamented Francis Kofi Bedzo, leader of the group, who doubles as the Volta Regional Organizer of the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG).

One major issue the group raised, is the issue of light fishing, which they also vehemently criticized, accusing chief fishermen along the landing beaches of conniving with strange canoes and allowing them to engage in the practice with impunity.

According to the group, some individuals, also fishers are quick to apprehend some locals, even attacking them at sea at the behest of the District Chief Fisherman for engaging in similar methods, sometimes leading to the distraction of fishing gear, running into tens of thousands of Ghana cedis and bodily injury to the fishers, necessitating calls for prompt intervention from the authorities to stem the tide and for peace to prevail going forward.

In a related development, the group has also petitioned the National Premix Secretariat to investigate the arbitrary formation of Premix fuel committees at the various landing beaches along the coast. The group claimed that the formation of the new landing beach committee for Denu was done by individuals purporting to be members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who without consultations with the Community Based Fisheries Management Committee (CBFMC) and fisher associations and other interest groups, selected individuals who were not engaged in any fishing activities or were not affiliated to any fisher groups to hold positions on the newly formed committee.

They are therefore calling on the National Premix Coordinator to cause the immediate dissolution of the said committee and call for a consultative meeting with all parties where qualified persons, vexed in the business of fishing will be selected to manage premix operations so as to ensure that the purpose of the committee was not defeated.