• He argued that Ghana can survive without any foreign aid
• He has sent in a memo to support the bill
Professor Charles Godfred Ackah is warning the country of the dire consequences of the proposed anti-LGBTQ+ bill which is currently before Parliament.
According to him, if Ghana decides to pass the bill which will criminalise homosexual activities, the could lose its foreign aid.
Even though the economics professor has submitted a memorandum to Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs committee supporting the proposed anti-LGBTQ+ bill, he believes that Ghana has enough resources to survive without foreign aid it could potentially lose should the bill be passed.
Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, October 9, Prof Ackah noted that, there are fears that the West may hit Ghana with all sorts of sanctions should it pass into law the bill criminalising homosexuality.
Prof Ackah said, the nation should not be perturbed since it is blessed with enough human and natural resources to ensure survival.
He said, “It comes with a cost; the health cost alone is dire. We don’t even have enough budget to fight HIV AIDS. This is going to increase HIV Aids. There is going to be public health challenge. We are not comprehensively insured.”
“When they want to do surgery or when they want to do hormone transfer; it’s paid for by the state. We don’t have that kind of thing here. 70% of all people who have AIDS in the US came from men marrying men or having sex,” Prof Ackah stressed.
About the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill
Sam Nartey George led an eight-member legislative group that drafted a Private Members’ Bill titled: “The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values, Bill 2021," which seeks to comprehensively outlaw activities of the LGBTQ+ community.
Currently, the bill has been laid before the house and referred to the appropriate committee for consideration.
The Ningo Prampram MP has strongly defended the need for the bill which he insists is a necessity in preserving the moral and cultural values of Ghanaians in general.
Sam George insists that LGBTQ+ tendencies are not human rights but preferences that need to be regulated within the context of what Ghanaian society and culture accept.
The bill has the full blessing of Speaker Alban Bagbin who is on record to have said he is pro-life and will ensure that the bill is passed into law as soon as possible.
File photo