Ghana: President Akufo-Addo could scrap anti-LGBTQ law

The Ghanaian president may not sign the bill passed last week by his country's Parliament against LGBTQ practices.

Nana Akufo-Addo said he would not approve an anti-gay bill until the Supreme Court rules on its legal framework.

Statement which comes after warnings from the Ghanaian Ministry of Finance. He said Monday that the country could lose billions of dollars in World Bank funding if the bill is enacted.

There is talk of a loss of at least 4 billion dollars from which Ghana benefits from the International Monetary Fund. Support for the country's budget spread over three years since only last year. The next payments then risk being compromised, according to the Minister of Finance.

Ghana is going through one of the most difficult economic times in its history for several years with inflation approaching 25%. It reached a historic peak of 54% in December 2022. The Ghanaian cedi is struggling to regain its value against the dollar.

Enough to give credence to the argument of the Minister of Finance regarding this text. The bill provides for three years in prison for identifying as LGBTQ+ and five years for promoting it.

Human rights groups went to court even before Parliament voted.

The proposed new law has been supported by Ghana's two main political parties, but cannot be implemented without the approval of the president.

It was widely condemned by the United Kingdom and the United States. Rights groups called it regressive.

Nana Akufo-Addo had previously said he would sign it if the majority of Ghanaians wanted it.

But he would now seek to assure the diplomatic community that Ghana is committed to upholding human rights.

The President acknowledged that the bill had “raised considerable concern in some quarters of the diplomatic community and among some friends of Ghana, because it could tarnish the country's long positive record of respect for human rights and commitment to the rule of law.