Linking anti-gay bill to financial implications means our independence is a mirage - Edem Agbana

The parliamentary candidate for Ketu North for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Edem Agbana, has expressed his disappointment over the discussions surrounding the financial consequences of the Anti-LGBT+ Bill.

According to him, such discussions compromise the integrity of Ghana’s independence.

This comes after the Ministry of Finance warned of looming financial implications for the economy should President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo sign the Promoting Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2024, or the anti-gay bill, into law.

In the ministry’s statement issued on March 4, it stated that the country stands to lose $3.8 billion from the World Bank should the bill be passed into law.

But, in a citinewsroom.com report, the Ketu North parliamentary candidate argued that such discussions suggest that Ghana lacks autonomy and self-sufficiency.

Edem Agbana stated that if the discussions about the bill are linked to the financial implications, then the country cannot boast of its independence.

To him, the sovereignty of Ghana becomes nothing but a mirage.

“My concern is that we are trying to debate this whole issue and link it to the financial implications of the bill. That tells me that what we did three days ago, lining up our schoolchildren, workers, and old men and women to celebrate what we call independence, is nothing but a mirage,” he stated.

Edem Agbana explained that as a sovereign state, the country should be able to make decisions it believes are good for its citizens.

He stated that he is embarrassed by the conversations about the financial implications raised by critics of the bill.

“Because if we are truly independent, we should be able to make decisions that we believe are in the best interests of this country. Our country must state our position on this issue clearly, and when you are going to the table of negotiations, let everybody know that these things must be attached; there cannot be conditionalities attached to giving us financial aid.

“And so, I believe that this whole conversation about the financial implications is even embarrassing to some of us. It undermines the whole concept of independence because you cannot even think for yourself, you cannot make decisions for yourself because when you do, a certain body wanting to give you money will withdraw the money, so you are ready to accept anything that they impose on you as a conditionality,” he stated.

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