Presby Moderator attributes Akufo-Addo’s hesitance to sign anti-LGBTQ+ bill to poverty

 

The head of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Right Rev. Dr. Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye, says President Akufo Addo hasn't signed the anti-LGBTQ+ bill because of poverty and hunger.

He thinks Western countries want to make African countries accept LGBTQ+ practices by threatening to stop giving them aid if they don't agree.

"The Western World sees that Africans are poor and always asking for help, so they try to make us practice LGBTQI," he said. "We need help because we've depended on the West for a long time, but they've taken a lot from us. And they tell us what to do."

He asked why Western leaders don't make Arab countries accept LGBTQ+.

"Why don't they force LGBTQI on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Abudabi, Palestine, Syria, Qatar, Iran, and other Arab League countries that have made it illegal?"

Right Rev. Dr. Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye also said that even though Ghana has lots of natural resources like gold, oil, and diamonds, the country is still poor because it depends too much on foreign aid. He called this situation "very painful."

"We have gold, oil, diamonds, and everything grows in Ghana, but we're still hungry," he said. "Our hospitals are bad, so leaders have to go abroad when they're sick."

The Parliament passed the anti-LGBTQ+ bill in 2024, but President Akufo Addo hasn't signed it because there's a legal case against it in the Supreme Court.

Ghana's Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, publicly criticized President Nana Akufo-Addo for not acting on the bill, calling it unconstitutional.

The delay happened after the finance ministry warned about financial problems if the bill is passed. It could make Ghana lose $3.8 million in World Bank money and mess up a $3-billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

But some people who support the bill are mad about the delay. They say President Akufo-Addo has signed other bills into law even when there were legal problems.

During a meeting in Parliament, Speaker Alban Bagbin said the president's refusal to get the bill was against the rules and has caused problems between the president and Parliament.