Opposition politicians in Ghana, which is in the throes of a debt crisis, forced the removal of funding in the nation’s budget to build a cathedral.
(Bloomberg) — Opposition politicians in Ghana, which is in the throes of a debt crisis, forced the removal of funding in the nation’s budget to build a cathedral.
Members of the National Democratic Congress in the country’s hung parliament rejected the 80 million cedis ($8.4 million) earmarked for a 5,000-seat cathedral designed by Ghanaian-British star architect David Adjaye.
A new $170 million conference center and a presidential initiative with a $1.9 million price tag were also struck out of the budget as “vanity projects,” said Cassiel Ato Forson, the minority party’s spokesperson on finance.
“We in the minority mobilized ourselves and voted against the use of public money in these difficult times to build a cathedral and a conference center,” said Forson.
The appropriation bill was passed Thursday after the requested adjustments.
Ghana is entering a belt-tightening phase after securing a preliminary agreement for a $3 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund.
Domestic bondholders have already been asked to take losses on their investments to bring the country’s debt-servicing costs, which eat up more than half of the state’s tax revenue, under control.
The government has also suspended interest payments for most external debt pending the outcome of talks with foreign-debt holders.
The cathedral’s original price tag of $100 million has quadrupled amid an economic crisis that has seen the cedi currency plunge and inflation surge.
The state has already spent more than $58 million on the project.
“This government still doesn’t appreciate the magnitude of the problem Ghana faces,” said Forson. “The burden-sharing is transferred to the taxpayer and to the investor community, but they themselves are not ready to sacrifice anything.
This is dangerous for our democracy.”
The chamber is on recess and will resume later in January. It hasn’t shared the exact resumption date.
–With assistance from Moses Mozart Dzawu.
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