Malik Basintale, a Deputy Communications Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), is saying the issues being raised by the Finance Ministry for the President not to assent to the Anti-LGBTQ+ /Gay Bill are a figment of the imagination of the ministry.
He has asked the Ministry to point to Ghanaians where in the International Monetary Fund’s agreement with the country that requires the state not to adopt the bill in order to secure the Bretton Wood Institution’s facility.
Speaking on TV3’s Big Issue with Roland Walker Tuesday, March 05, 2024, Mr. Basintale noted that it would be better Ghana was rather sold than to discard the Anti-Gay bill for a paltry $3billion loan.
“I’ve read this document over twenty times and I haven’t seen a single legal basis as to why Alhaji Amin Antah, MP for Karaga, will think that it is wrong for the President to sign a bill that stops man and man from marrying. There is no condition, there is no termination clause stated in this agreement that has got anything to do with LGBTQI. The basis that will lead to the termination of this agreement has got absolutely nothing to do with the passage of a law criminalizing LGBTQI.
“So I ask Alhaji Amin Antah, who has suddenly developed a love for LGBTQI and thinks that criminalizing them will lead us to not getting 3 billion loan. Paltry, last year 2022, the Auditor General’s report brought out infractions in public sector to a tune of 1.2 billion that is greater than 700 million per year Amin Antah thinks we should not set aside. If because of a paltry 3 billion loan this government thinks LGBTQI+ be practiced in this country it is time we sold this country to someone who will buy the country for cheap,” he said.
The Ministry of Finance on Monday, March 04, 2024, wrote to the President of Ghana, urging him not to assent to the bill passed by Parliament.
The Ministry says if the bill is signed into law, it may cost the country greatly.
These risks include a potential loss of $850 million in budgetary support from the World Bank this year alone.
In the 5-page document, the Ministry explained that “for 2024 Ghana will lose US$600 million Budget support and US$250 million for the Financial Stability Fund.”
“This will negatively impact Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves and exchange rate stability as these inflows are expected to shore the country’s reserve position,” the statement added.
Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill: Suit against assent is laughable – Sam George
