Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta says all is set for construction works to begin on the controversial National Cathedral.

Presenting the 2020 budget in Parliament Wednesday, November 13, 2019, the Finance Minister said work on the project will commence in March next year.

“Mr. Speaker, the interdenominational National Cathedral that will be located in the heart of the capital stands to help unify the Christian community as a place of worship and promote the national conversation on the role of faith in building Ghana. With the participation of various churches in the administration of the Cathedral, collective ownership of the project by the churches is envisioned.

“The Board of Trustees and the Secretariat have been established, and preparatory works for the construction of the Cathedral have begun. Procurement processes to select a contractor are expected to conclude by the end of the year and construction is expected to begin in March 2020,” he told Parliament.

The cathedral will have chapels and baptistery, a music school, an art gallery, and a Bible museum.

The National Cathedral of Ghana is a planned interdenominational Christian cathedral scheduled to be built as part of Ghana’s 60th-anniversary celebrations.

The design for the cathedral was unveiled by the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, in March 2018.

We’ve fought and won painful battles

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, says the Akufo-Addo government has fought and won some painful financial battles since assuming power.

“This is the year that one can confidently say that God’s blessings of the hard work is beginning to manifest, putting us on a positive trajectory for sustained lift,” Mr Ofori-Atta said on Wednesday when he presented the 2020 Budget to Parliament.

He continued: “I say so because we have won some painful but necessary battles for God and country. We have stabilised the microeconomic turbulence that was all too regular a feature in the management of the national economy. We have delivered on our flagship programme. The Gains made so far are significant and it is indeed to the glory of God,” he said.

He said the inflation rate has fallen from 15.4 per cent in December 2016 to 7.6 per cent in September 2019, the lowest since March 1992 adding that the 91-day treasury bill rate also fell steadily from nearly 17 per cent in December 2016 and now stands at 14.7 per cent;

“The fiscal deficit has declined from 6.5 per cent of GDP in 2016 to 4.5 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2019; On the external front, the trade deficit has improved from US$1.8 billion in 2016 to a surplus of US$2.6 billion in August 2019” he told the Parliamentarians.

Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh