The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has said: "It is better to complete Agenda 111 hospital projects than to spend money on a national cathedral."
Reacting to what he said was a "resurgence in messaging about the national cathedral by very eminent religious people," Dr Ayine, who was speaking in Zuarungu during President John Mahama's visit to the Upper East Region on Thursday [Aug 13, 2026] said, "I want to say this, the money that was spent on the national cathedral, from the report of the PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), that was presented to me just last Friday... you don't build a house of God in the manner in which they went about it, that is is all that I can say. But the important thing is that, the money could have been used to complete the district hospitals."
Turning to look at President Mahama, who was sitting on the dais at a durbar on the Free Primary Healthcare programme in Zuarungu in the Bolgatanga East District, Dr Ayine urged the president to rather focus on completing the Agenda 111 projects, and not the questionable cathedral, Graphic Online's Gilbert Azeem Tiroog reports.
To Dr Dominic Ayine, President Mahama should rather prioritise the completion of stalled Agenda 111 hospital projects than committing public resources to the national cathedral.
Dr Ayine, who raised the issue amid what he described as a resurgence of calls by “very eminent religious people” for the construction of the National Cathedral, said the money already spent on the project could have been used to complete some of the Agenda 111 hospitals across the country.
Cathedral expenditure
Dr Ayine who is also the Member of Parliament for the Bolgatanga East constituency, questioned the prioritisation of the National Cathedral at a time when several hospital projects remained incomplete.
“It is better to complete Agenda 111 than to spend money on the National Cathedral,” he said.
He said the issue had become particularly relevant following renewed calls for the National Cathedral by eminent religious figures.
Referring to a report on expenditure on the project, which he said was recently presented to him, Dr Ayine said the manner in which the project had been handled was questionable.
“You don't build a house of God in the manner in which they went about it,” he said.
Agenda 111
Dr Ayine said the uncompleted Agenda 111 hospital at Zuarungu in the Bolgatanga East District had been included in the government’s programme to complete some of the stalled projects.
He said he had consistently engaged the Minister of Health on the need to complete the facility, which he described as important to addressing healthcare challenges in the district.
“I have been on the neck of my colleague, the Health Minister, to ensure that it is completed,” he said.
Dr Ayine said he had also compelled the Health Minister to disclose the list of districts whose Agenda 111 projects had been selected for completion.
“When he asked his people, his IT people, to pull it up, there was Bolga East Zuarungu listed on it,” he said.
He expressed satisfaction that the facility had been included in the completion programme, saying its completion would improve healthcare delivery in the district.
Bolgatanga East health challenges
Dr Ayine also drew attention to the challenges facing the Bolgatanga East Health Centre, particularly its limited capacity to conduct emergency Caesarean sections.
He said the facility operated with a very small theatre, making it difficult to handle multiple pregnant women requiring emergency surgery at the same time.
“If two or three pregnant women come here and there's a need for us to do a C-section, there's no way we are going to be able to handle all of them,” he said.
He explained that additional patients had to be transferred to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital, putting further pressure on the referral facility.
Dr Ayine disclosed that the Minister of Health had visited the facility and promised to ensure the construction of a modern operating theatre for the health centre.
Commendation
The Attorney-General commended President Mahama for the implementation of the Free Primary Healthcare programme, describing it as a demonstration of the government’s commitment to improving the welfare of Ghanaians.
He said the programme, together with other government initiatives, demonstrated that the powers of government could be exercised in the interest of citizens.
Dr Ayine said improving healthcare infrastructure and expanding access to primary healthcare were essential to improving the wellbeing of Ghanaians.
