The Director of Legal Affairs for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, has expressed disappointment in the Finance Ministry for asserting that Ghana could risk losing a potential US$3.8 billion if President Akufo-Addo assents to the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.
According to him, the Finance Ministry’s claim that Ghana faces a potential loss of US$3.8 billion in World Bank Financing is entirely “hollow and has no basis.”
His comments come in response to concerns raised by the Finance Ministry about the potential implications of President Akufo-Addo’s assent to the recently passed anti-LGBTQ+ bill by Parliament.
The Ministry outlined the negative implications of the document on its expenditure, key government plans, and projects, stating that the country could also risk a potential loss of US$850 million in budgetary support from the World Bank this year alone.
In the 5-page document, the Ministry explained, “For 2024, Ghana will lose US$600 million in Budget support and US$250 million for the Financial Stability Fund.”
However, speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, March 9, Mr Tamakloe questioned whether the anti-LGBTQ+ bill was a condition precedent for accessing money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Our engagement with the IMF is purely contractual. What we should never forget is that whatever money the IMF is giving to us is actually a loan payable with interest, so it is not as though the IMF is doing us some Father Christmas engagement by giving us those loans, no,” he stressed.
Mr Tamakloe cited the anti-gay law in Uganda, where engaging in LGBTQ activity is punishable by death. He emphasised that the IMF has completed the fifth review of loan support with the Ugandan government despite their draconian law on LGBTQ.
“In the Ugandan law, unlike what Parliament just passed where the custodial sentence is a maximum of above three years – in the case of Uganda, it’s actually death depending on how aggravated that particular act or conduct is.
“So, when the Finance Minister makes the assertion that if the president assents to it [anti-LGBTQ+ bill], there’s a potential loss of $3.8 billion, it’s a complete red herring, it has no basis,” the NDC legal team member said.
Mr Tamakloe clarified that the World Bank had issued a statement that their relationship with Ghana regarding loan support is ongoing.
“So if you put all these things together, I’m saying that the Honourable Amin Adam, whose ministry issued that statement to the president, had no basis whatsoever and was only engaging in an alarmist act.”
Source: myjoyonline.com / Prince Adu-Owusu
