The Minority in Parliament, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed its disappointment in the Ministry of Finance’s letter imploring the President not to sign the anti-LGBTQ bill into law. The Minister of Finance indicated that the country is bound to lose international funding from the Breton Woods institutions if the anti-LGBTQ bill is passed.
The Minority in Parliament however argued that the country cannot kowtow to foreign pressures as Ghana is a sovereign state capable of making its decisions. The NDC noted that succumbing to external forces in exchange for financial support is tantamount to feeding the country’s sovereignty to the dogs.
“Without any iota of doubt, it is an insult to the good people of this country…is the interest of the World Bank and IMF more than that of Ghanaians? The streets must be flooded. Everybody must be prepared on this matter… Thousands and millions of people must be prepared to flood the streets on this matter to protect our independence”.
Hon. Alhassan Bashir Alhassan Fuseini
The NDC further described the position of the Finance Minister as tragic and disappointing. The Minority stated that it is contradictory in itself that the Finance who prides himself on Ghanaian cultural values will take such a controversial stance regarding the bill.
Moreover, the NDC dared the Vice President and flagbearer of the NPP to publicly announce his stance on the issue at hand. The Minority indicated that its flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has taken a resolute position to stand with Ghanaians on the issue, hence the Vice President must make his position concerning the anti-LGBTQ bill clear.
“Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia should speak on this matter…John Dramani has made his position clear. Are you saying that when he [John Mahama] comes to power, he won’t need foreign aid? He is aware of the implications but he has juxtaposed the harm that this will cause us vis-a-vis the income or the wealth that we are going to get from foreign aid”.
Hon. Yussif Sulemana
More Controversy
Interestingly, the Majority Leader of Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, specified that issues that he and other Members of Parliament had raised concerning the custodial sentencing clause of the controversial anti-LGBTQ bill ought to be contested in the Supreme Court. He stressed that the citizens must fight to test the constitutionalism of the bill.
Furthermore, the Majority Leader of Parliament indicated that Ghana as a growing democracy must identify undemocratic issues and deal with them without giving too much credence to emotions and personal sentiments.
He maintained that a sexual right should not lead to a criminal penalty. He however emphasized the importance of legislating against same-sex relationships and criminalizing those who entice underage children to engage in such acts. “But if you think someone in that situation has to suffer, I have a problem… the Catholic Church came out strongly to make a passionate appeal on that matter” he stated.
Hon. Afenyo-Markin clarified that the President has not been presented with the anti-LGBTQ bill. He indicated that the bill has not yet gone through the final authentication process.
He emphasized that the Speaker of Parliament would have to certify the final draft of the bill after it has been authenticated by the Clerk to Parliament. He therefore implored Ghanaians not to mount unwarranted pressure on the President regarding the bill.
“The public needs to know this so that a certain impression is not created out there. The drafting department is still compiling and I have been chasing it myself and they say it requires some time because a lot of changes were done. The bill went through several amendments, it has to be tidied up”.
Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin
The anti-LGBTQ bill from its inception has been met with external disapproval, especially from the West and major institutions like the World Health Organization, Amnesty International, and the Breton Woods institutions (IMF and World Bank). While Ghana is not the first African country to have introduced the bill, the country is certainly taking more hits than other countries had even with the bill yet to be signed.
READ MORE: Nana Addo’s Difficult Choice On The Anti Gay Bill
