LGBT+ bill saga: Ghana losing core values for US$3.8 billion is dehumanizing – Lord Mensah

Senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Professor Lord Mensah says it will be dehumanizing for Ghana to kowtow and throw away its core values over $3.8 billion.

The Ministry of Finance says Ghana is likely to lose US$3.8 billion in World Bank Financing over the next five to six years and also derail the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme if the anti-gay bill is assented to.

The Ministry in a statement catalogued a number of challenges Ghana may grapple with as a result of the passage of the LGBTQ+ passage by Parliament.

“In total, Ghana is likely to lose US$3.8 billion in World Bank Financing over the next five to six years. 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 Ministry stated.

But speaking on Morning Starr with Francis Abban, the University of Ghana senior lecturer stated that Ghana as a country must use this opportunity to signal its economic independence to the world.

“We are looking at the short-term and long-term cost and the benefit the Ministry or the country want to rake in about 3.8 billion dollars. The long-term cost when it comes to the bill being assented by the President is more than this 3.8 billion dollars, then the country losing its core values in itself is dehumanizing.

“Because as I sit here, I don’t understand why somebody should come and tell me to go and marry a man and then a woman should marry another woman, or a man should marry a tree or a woman should marry an animal before you can give me money to rescue my economy because my economy is deteriorating. It is dehumanizing,” Prof. Lord Mensah stated.