The Trades Union Congress has rejected President Akufo-Addo’s position that the building of the National Cathedral constitutes a national priority among priorities and would serve as a rallying point for strengthening unity among Ghanaians.
The TUC says while Christians may be in the majority in Ghana, Christianity is not the national religion and cannot be placed above the rest of religions in the country.
It is therefore asking the government to stop the national cathedral project or it will rally workers to protest until it is shelved.
The workers mother union says building a national cathedral for only Christians may rather divide the country than unite it, and that it would be sitting on the fence to endorse it when there are more pressing social disparities waiting to be addressed.
The TUC, quoting from the Bible, (Acts 7:48-49 ), argued that the proposed national cathedral cannot be for the glorification of God since God does not live in houses made by human hands.
“The Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? Says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things? (NIV)”
“We would like to appeal to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to shelve this plan otherwise we will invite all Ghanaians to join us to campaign vehemently against this misplaced priority and to protect the national purse.
“Our workplaces, our schools, colleges and universities, and all places of worship across the country would be more effective rallying points for strengthening unity among Ghanaians than a national cathedral located in Accra which can be accessed only by the privileged class in society. Moreover, we should encourage more inter-marriages among ethnic groups in the country and facilitate the learning of multiple languages as a means of strengthening unity among all the ethnic groups in Ghana.”
Below is TUC's statement in full
PRESS STATEMENT ON THE PROPOSED NATIONAL CATHEDRAL
Ghanaians from all walks of life have expressed their opinions about government's plan to construct a national cathedral. While some argue strongly in favour of the construction of the cathedral, others vehemently oppose it. Others have suggested that government should change the proposed location of the project to safe the existing public buildings on the land and/or consider a reduction of the size of the project to reduce cost.
Those who are against the project contend that a national cathedral should not be a priority, given the prevailing socio-economic circumstances in the country. They see the construction of such an edifice for worship as a waste of scarce national resources.
Those who are in favour of the project argue mainly from a religious point of view. Some say we should be ready to spend whatever amount it takes to build a cathedral to glorify the Good Lord.
There are also those who have argued in favour of the project mainly because they are members or sympathizers of the ruling party and so they do not want to be seen as critics of their own party's initiative.
While the debate rages on the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is reported to have said the proposed national cathedral is "a priority among priorities". According to President Akufo-Addo, since 70 percent of Ghanaians are Christian the cathedral will be a rallying point for strengthening unity among Ghanaians.
Ordinarily, TUC would not have joined this debate because of its religious and partisan nature. But we cannot sit on the fence for a cathedral to become a "priority among priorities" in Ghana.
We agree with the President that we need a rallying point for strengthening unity among the people of Ghana because, as we all know, partisan politics has divided and continues to divide the people of Ghana. But we do not believe that we need a special national cathedral to serve as a rallying point to strengthen unity among the people of Ghana. The construction of a cathedral for only Christians may even divide us farther because there are many other religions in Ghana. Christians may constitute the majority of the population but that does not make Christianity a national religion and it should not be seen as more important than the other religions. A national cathedral for Christians, regardless of their share of the population, should never find space on the list of priorities for Ghana. If the proposed cathedral is for the glorification of God, we would like to refer the President to the Book of Acts 7:48-49 in the Christian Bible:
The Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? Says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Has not my handmade all these things? (NIV)
Currently, over six million Ghanaians do not have access to clean water; one out of every four Ghanaian children is affected by chronic malnutrition; anemia affects 66 percent of young children and 42 percent of women of childbearing age; only 15 percent of urban residents and 6 percent of rural residents have access to sanitation facilities; a very significant number of households lacks access to toilet facilities and so open defecation is quite common; there is only one doctor for 8000 Ghanaians compared to World Health Organisation (WHO) standard of one doctor for 5000 people (in some regions, there is only one doctor for over 50,000 residents); many children are dying needlessly from malaria and other preventable diseases; the amount of money available for healthcare for Ghanaians under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is just about GH
Why should a national cathedral be "a priority among priorities" in these circumstances? Why should government use scarce national resources to construct a national cathedral when we have all these social and economic challenges to deal with?
We are fully convinced that if Ghanaians, including Christians, were to be asked individually to list their priorities for the country a national cathedral would never feature in the first one thousand items on the list of priorities, even if it features at all.
We would like to appeal to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to shelve this plan otherwise we will invite all Ghanaians to join us to campaign vehemently against this misplaced priority and to protect the national purse.
Our workplaces, our schools, colleges and universities, and all places of worship across the country would be more effective rallying points for strengthening unity among Ghanaians than a national cathedral located in Accra which can be accessed only by the privileged class in society. Moreover, we should encourage more inter-marriages among ethnic groups in the country and facilitate the learning of multiple languages as a means of strengthening unity among all the ethnic groups in Ghana.
The TUC will continue to support government initiatives that seek to address the social and economic challenges facing our country including the President's vision of Ghana Beyond Aid, the free SHS programme, the National Builders Corp programme and similar progressive projects. But we cannot support the construction of a national cathedral. We believe even the Good Lord will not approve this project, given the social and economic challenges facing Ghana today.
[SIGNED]
DR. YAW BAAH
SECRETARY GENERAL
TRADES UNION CONGRESS (GHANA)
ACCRA, 15™ OCTOBER, 2018.
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THe TUC does not appear to understand anything except to want to be in the news always. The Cathedral will be funded from funds to be solicited by the committee. Christians and all wishers can make their free will donations towards this project. People always talk about priorities when they don't even understand what they are talking about. If the President says it is a priority among priorities I believe he meant the time is ripe and cannot be postponed. How the TUC can conclude that this means that the Govt is going to use the tax payers money, or that the President is going to spend his time constructing the Cathedral beats my imagination. There is a committee responsible for raising funds for this project. It is a priority among priorities for them. Our current President is the most hard working President I have seen in this 4th Republic and to suggest that he is not doing anything but see to the construction of a building again beat my imagination. But like I said there are a lot of people is leadership positions who think they must by all means be heard, all in the name of democracy. People have expressed diverse views on the subject so why would the tuc align itself to one view and insist that the rest of us must fall in line. I don't see anything wrong with the state donation a piece of land for the project, After all the state donated a piece of land for the national mosque. Was that also wrong? The state again is not funding this project beyond offering the land. I THINK THE COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS PROJECT MUST APPOINT A PRO WHO WILL BE BOLD ENOUGH TO ADDRESS AND SPEAK TO THESE ISSUES TO BRING CLARITY TO THE CONFUSED, OR OTHERWISE ***barred word*** MIND. Communication is key.
The national cathedral is not on government budget for you to think it will be paid by the taxpayers money.The committee for the cathedral are to solicit for funds so be quiet and pray for them to get funds. TUC be in your in your lane, we all know what you do with workers contributions so you better shut your bills.
I don't do politics, but for the course of promoting Gods' Kingdom, I will continue to pray and support it financially. The point was made clear that the churches were going to raise funds to build it and if am not mistaken, my church, Assemblies of God Ghana has already contributed $2m for that project. #Building for God.
I can't think far anytime I hear the sole called Christians in Ghana try to sound their logic by comparing the National mosque to the cathedral . You are told that the mosque was funded by the Turkish who are Muslims . You can also to Vatican to request for something similar . The Catholics are not even involved in this cathedral thing because you can see they are their mega cathedrals . This whole noise is coming from the likes of Obinim and his likes . You can pray anywhere and God will listen . PRAY for this country and stop the madnessss .
The national mosque is a project sponsored by the Turkish Government not GoG. Get your facts right
Where were the tuc when the national mosque was started and were they afraid of the Muslims, at that time were there more work than churches and mosques, everybody has jobs and and all tuc is enjoying milk and honey ?
I'm writing a letter to IMF ,the World bank and other financial partners to stop creating problems for our ordinary people. Because they are in the habit of funding uselesss projects in Africa and that is why there is poverty in Africca . If they cannot do due diligence before proding funds for uselesss leadership who dont care about value for money then they should stop granting loans . How can a president come to you for a loan to build a cathedral when the entire country is hungry and all the learned economist from IMF see nothing wrong with this man ? Is that waht they do in their country ? I will personally copy the European parliament on this issue . They must begin to sanction our uselesss African leaders at ICC . They have to expand the ICC court to accommodate more of our leaders .
Mr phd holder, I rebuke the anti-christ spirit in you. We the sons and daughrts of the most high God shall arise and build a temple to our God and King, i no power on earth can stop it. I repeat, no power on earth can stop it....I don't think your TUC members want a taste of the wrath of God on them and their families.Dare the living God and you shall know on that same day who created you. Read: Psalm 24:1-2 Psalm 47:7-9 Haggai 2:8
when intellectuals are speaking it hard for foollllls to understand (foooolsss here means those who think in party colors and know nothing about living standards ). We have thousands of churches and mosques where we pray . These days the churches are even empty on sundays , people are not getting food to eat , how then do you construct a place of worship for hungry people ? why have we refuses to think in this country ? I thought all these big guys around the president have brains to tell him leadership is not about what you think your followers want, it is what they think is good for them . Where are all the management theories you studies in school ? Today a secondary school student will tell you what a scale of preference, economics of choice and scarcity means in microeconomics . What is wrong with NANA ADDO ? I'm very sure its about the money people are going to make out of this project and it doesnt necessarily mean the project is relevant . If you have greater majority of the people speaking against this project with exception of your party people then I am tempted to conclude there is some financial benefits that the president is expecting from this project
somehow the tuc is right. nana addo must first think of our roads and economic well being of ghanaians by reducing the many taxes than building a national cathedral. i think nana addo is gradually losing it.