Gay pride and its advocacy have become an entrenched social phenomenon that cannot be wished away by mere religious and moral rhetoric. In fact, the repeated resounding appeals by gay activists and the powers-that-be for Ghana to legalise homosexuality are only a crescent of a landmine that is yet to explode.
By the way, I must put across that I am not a ‘gay lover’ neither am I its proponent. And, of course, I do not support nefarious acts aimed at denying gays their fundamental right to live.
However, for world economic giants like the United States of America among others to somewhat condition the release of aid to African countries based on the legalisation of gay rights should be a clarion call for our leaders to commence novel strategies to generate other sustainable streams of revenue. (See: Gay rights must be criterion for US aid allocation, instructs Obama via www. theguardian.com). It must also be noted that David Cameron, the Prime Minister of Britain, issued a similar threat in 2011.
What is the point here? Undoubtedly, these economic giants are singing this ridiculous chorus to us because they are aware of the poverty that has enveloped most African countries. And beyond this, these development partners are not blind to the desperation of our leaders who are in need of their financial freebies. That is why they can silently bark at us with weird policies and practices that are alien to us.
Clearly, these development partners have succeeded in telling Ghanaians that the poor man has limited choices and those choices are dictated by the rich and powerful. I cannot for the life of me fathom the USA or the UK breathing subtle or fiery economic threats on China, Russia or Saudi Arabia simply because the latter are opposed to homosexuality. It is unheard of!
Ghana’s impoverished economic status has ultimately paved the way for these economic giants to bully us from all corners. If you have any reservation relative to the foregone statement, ask yourself why the International Monetary Fund is in Ghana with their asphyxiating economic conditions? Meanwhile, we keep deceiving ourselves that whatever they have forced down our throats dovetail into our home-grown policies.
It is for this reason that the time has come for Ghana and for that matter African leaders to begin applying bold and radical steps akin to our milieu that are conducive towards economic boom. Foreign prescriptions have succeeded in aggravating our woes as a people in spite of the fact that we are not oblivious of what our basic economic or social problems are. Of a truth, I daresay that our present predicaments are self inflicted.
A cross section of individuals, some public sector workers and even government’s beloved bootlickers are addicted to crass corruption. Indeed, corruption in the forms of the award of dubious contracts, stinking ‘kick-backs,’ inflation of projects that cost less, money paid to contractors and individuals for no work done, among others have become the bane of Ghana’s economic prosperity.
Greed has eroded the financial resources that otherwise could revamp the industrial sector that has witnessed zero growth recently. Are there palpable benefits so far accrued from the much publicised SADA project despite the huge capital investment? The erratic power supply is crippling businesses and our sage politicians have embraced mediocrity because it keeps filling their pockets with crumbs.
Has Mr Alfred Woyome refunded to the state the millions of dollars that were illegally paid to him as judgement debt? Those national service officers who colluded to fleece the nation of millions of cedis, have they been prosecuted and made to fully refund the money to government chest? There are a lot of unanswered questions.
Yet in the midst of these deliberate strides to dwindle the economic fortunes of the country, the managers of our economy still fail to deny themselves of those nonsensical engagements and pleasures that make us unbridled beggars and habitual borrowers. The government has saddled us with acidic debts that keep the country miles away from sound economic revival; yet it claims the country still has more capacity to borrow.
Most statutory payments are in arrears while ‘ghost’ names on government’s payroll keep on scooping huge amount of money into individuals’ bank accounts. Incredible! Can the government come clear on the total revenue gained so far from exploiting the country’s oil? And how much of it has gone into infrastructural developments that are not fully or partially funded by donor partners?
It appears without these donor partners, we are clueless in funding and managing our economy. Yes, we need them but how long can they sustain our recklessly managed economy? Young entrepreneurs find it extremely difficult to access loans to implement their business plans because interests on loans are throat cutting. Ghana’s interest on loans conservatively is not less than 25 percent. Even where and how will they (young entrepreneurs) get collaterals to secure the loan?
Nevertheless, our neighbour, Ivory Coast that recently emerged from bloody civil clashes has its interest rate hovering around 3.5 percent this year. Their cocoa production in terms of metric tonnes has seen a steady increase while that of Ghana keeps declining. (Readers can visit www. tradingecnomics.com for further comparative details about these two countries.)
What more can be written? If Ghana does not recover quickly form its economic doldrums, then Ghanaians should not blame these perceived imperialists for forcing our comatose leaders to legalise homosexuality as a precondition to releasing aid towards financing major projects in the country. Economic growth and financial independence are essential prerequisites for self assertiveness and relevant to curing the economic and political mischief of neo-colonialists. And it seems our leaders are incapable of making that happen.
Apparently, Ghana’s economic fundamentals that are the bedrock of sound economic development have been thrown out of gear. I do hereby submit that homosexuality at the moment is a secondary matter.
The primary concern of our religious leaders and those of us against homosexuality, therefore, should be the need for us to tell the government of the day to deliver economic prosperity that long has eluded us. It is when this is done that most of our youth will be saved from being attracted to homosexuals who hold monetary sway over them.
AUTHOR: OKOFO DARTEY SAMUEL
EMAIL: sodesq2000@yahoo.com
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