Ghana's government will investigate controversial plans to build a $400m (£330m) national cathedral, Ghana's new president John Mahama has said.
Pressure is increasing on the authorities to drop the project, which has divided opinions in a country suffering from an economic crisis.
Former President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose party was voted out during the December elections, had pledged to build the cathedral after crediting God for his party's success in 2016.
Akufo-Addo's government has said the cathedral will be privately funded, but $58 million in taxpayer money has so far been spent on the project.
There is no evidence of this amount except a huge hole in a valuable piece of land in central Accra, which was previously occupied by government buildings, the homes of judges and financial companies.
Ghana is a deeply religious country, with 70% of the population being Christians.
The National Cathedral of Ghana was envisioned as a holy place for all Christians, where national religious services could be held. It is also scheduled to include a Bible museum and a national convention center.
At the thanksgiving ceremony on Sunday, Mahama said: “The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has directed government to review the project and investigate any misuse of public funds. We will soon activate such investigation into the project.”
But he did not rule out finishing the cathedral.
“We can come up with a more reasonable number to complete such a project and together we can raise funding for it,” he said.
“Such reconsideration of this project may include changing the current site chosen for the project. The project must be completed at a reasonable cost. In the current circumstances that Ghana is going through, it does not make sense to realize a project in the huge sum of $400 million.”
New Finance Minister Cassel Ato-Forsson suggested on Monday that public funds would no longer be used on the project, telling a parliamentary committee that the government would “work to stop wasteful spending and the National Cathedral project is one such project.”
Ghana has been hit by the worst economic crisis in a generation, and last year received a $3 billion (£2.5 billion) bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
The rate of rise in commodity prices, or inflation, has improved significantly since the bailout, but remains high at 23.8%.
Work on the cathedral stopped after contractors wrote to the government saying they were unwilling to continue due to non-payment.
Before the December elections, Mahama hinted that if he became president, he would launch an investigation into the project and decide whether to continue with it.
But while his National Democratic Congress party was in opposition, his parliamentary caucus urged Akufo-Addo to “end the project contract” entirely.
National Democratic Congress MP Kwabena Mintah Akandoh asked: “Where is the wisdom in building a cathedral when there are more pressing needs in the country across sectors like health and education?
“I don’t think any reasonable person would expect John Mahama to build a cathedral. People are dying from cholera and other diseases, why focus on the cathedral?”
The building also raised concern among senior clerics involved in the project.
Five members of the cathedral's board of trustees have resigned amid calls for the government to halt the project and conduct an audit.
