Ghana government considering "complete halt" of Adjaye's national cathedral

Ghana president John Dramani Mahama has taken steps towards abandoning the Adjaye Associates-designed National Cathedral in Accra following an investigation into the finances of the controversial project.

The president's office announced that it has begun the process of ending the current contracts connected to the cathedral and will launch a further "forensic audit" that may lead to the project being halted entirely.

"The Attorney General and Minister for Justice has been tasked with taking legal steps to lawfully terminate the contract for the National Cathedral project, a measure aimed at 'preventing further costs and losses to the state'," it said in a statement.

"The minister affirmed that 'decisive action will be taken regarding any impropriety determined and the future of the project itself' once the forensic audit is complete," it continued. "This signals a potential re-evaluation or complete halt of the controversial project."

Commissioned in 2018 by former president Nana Akufo-Addo, the cathedral project has become controversial due to its costs and accusations that Adjaye Assoiciates was illegally hired to design the building.

According to the BBC around $58 million of taxpayer's money has already been spent on the $400 million cathedral despite construction not starting.

The decision to consider terminating the project was based on an audit by the accountancy firm Deloitte & Touche, which the current president commissioned.

According to the president's office, the audit revealed "a litany of financial irregularities, procurement breaches, and a 'general lack of due process'."

Report "makes clear that there is no discrepancy in payments"

While the audit noted irregularities, it does not state that any wrongdoing has occurred.

The audit initially noted a discrepancy in the fees the president's office reported to have paid the design team and the fees Adjaye Associates reported to have received.

"The audit found troubling variances in consultancy fees paid to Sir David Adjaye & Associates Ltd, with the Office of the President confirming GHS 113,040,564.86 [$10.6 million] while the firm claimed GHS 117,972,656.00 [$11.2 million] – an unexplained difference of GHS 4,932,091.14 [$463,000]," said a statement from the president's office.

However, after seeking clarification and carrying out a "detailed review", Deloitte & Touche confirmed that both parties agreed that fees of GHS 117,972,656.00 [$11.2 million] had been paid as part of the contract.

"The Deloitte audit for the National Cathedral of Ghana makes clear that there is no discrepancy in payments made to [studio founder] David Adjaye or Adjaye Associates," said a spokesperson for Adjaye Associates.

"All funds dispensed were within the scope of the contract and there has been no misallocation of any amount," they continued. "These are the facts and can be verified by a full reading of the statement issued by the government of Ghana on 18 July 2025."

"All additional work was covered by variations to the original contract"

The audit also stated that Adjaye Associates had received fees of GHS 15,738,750 ($1.48 million) before an "agreement was officially signed".

It also noted that fees of $12,430,221 had been billed by Adjaye Associates for additional work not included within the initial contract.

"We can confirm that all additional work was covered by variations to the original contract (made in 2019) and these addendums were all signed-off accordingly before works begun," said a spokesperson for Adjaye Associates.

According to the audit, Adjaye Associates have been paid $15.7 million for the project with $7.9 million of fees outstanding.

Project currently on hold

Planned for a site near Ghana's parliament in Accra, the landmark project would have a concave roof topping a 5,000-seat auditorium. It would also contain a series of chapels, a baptistery, a music school, an art gallery and Africa's first bible museum.

The building site is currently vacant with construction work yet to commence, following the demolition of state buildings, judges' homes and buildings for financial practices.

Adjaye Associates was dropped from a number of projects in 2023, including the Africa Institute in Sharjah and the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, after three former employees accused studio founder David Adjaye of sexual misconduct. Adjaye denies the allegations.

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