Ghana to lose £3 billion over anti-LGBTQ+ bill, finance ministry warns
Ghana's is set to lose $3.8 billion (£3 billion) if the country's President signs an anti-LGBTQ+ bill in as law.
That's according to internal government documents seen by ITV News.
On February 28, the African nation's government unanimously passed the law, which criminalises identifying as LGBTQ+ and punishes those seen promoting or funding LGBTQ+ rights and communities.
The new bill could imprison people for more than a decade for activities including public displays of affection and promotion of LGBTQ+ activities.
Gay sex is already outlawed in Ghana, and carries a three-year prison sentence, but the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, formally called the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill, is proposing much harsher punishments.
The possibility of the bill being implemented has triggered backlash from Ghana's finance sector, development partners and international financial institutions, according to an internal government memo seen by ITV News.
Many have said that current financial agreements may be suspended if the bill is passed, and the loss to the African country's economy is currently set to add up to $3.8 billion (£3 billion), the finance ministry warned.
The $3.8 billion set to vanish is from World Bank funding and would disappear over the next five to six years, the finance ministry said.
It predicts the losses in 2024 would impact Ghana's foreign exchange reserves and exchange rate stability, leaving a "financing gap" in the country's budget.
The bill has yet to be forwarded to the country's president for assent.
Ghana’s president said on Tuesday his government will wait for a Supreme Court ruling before taking action on a bill.
President Nana Akufo-Addo said he sought to reassure the diplomatic community that Ghana would not be turning its back on its longstanding human rights record.
As a result, the ministry said the government would need to significantly reduce its expenditures or increase domestic revenue.
Ghana is already in dire financial straits, and requested a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in May last year after the country's debt burden became "unsustainable".
The IMF approved a $3 billion (£2.36 billion) extended credit arrangement for the West African nation to support its economic recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Those in favour of the bill say it would help to protect children and people who are victims of abuse.
There has been international criticism of the "Anti-LBGTQ" bill, with the United States saying the legislation "undermines human rights".
"The bill seeks to criminalize any person who simply identifies as LGBTQI+, as well as any friend, family, or member of the community who does not report them," a US department of state press statement said.
"The United States echoes the call by those Ghanaians who have urged a review of the constitutionality of the bill to protect the rights of all individuals in Ghana."
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Religious leaders have also commented on the bill, including the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Reverend Justin Welby said in October 2021 that he was "gravely concerned" by a draft of the bill.
Human rights organisations have also made their stance on the controversial bill clear.
“The anti-LGBT rights bill is inconsistent with Ghana’s longstanding tradition of peace, tolerance, and hospitality and flies in the face of the country’s international human rights obligations,” Human Rights Watch researcher Larissa Kojoué said.
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