The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is monitoring events in Ghana following the passage of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill by Parliament.
Popularly known as the Anti-LGBTQ bill, the legislation seeks to criminalize LGBTQ+ activities, as well as their promotion, advocacy, and funding.
Already, the bill’s passage has attracted criticism from various stakeholders and CSOs including the United States Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Evelyn Palmer.
But in a statement issued by the IMF and copied to Bloomberg, the global lender said its internal policies frown on discrimination based on personal characteristics, including gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation.
The IMF noted that “Diversity and inclusion are values that the IMF embraces.”
Acknowledging the importance of the situation, the IMF said it will closely observe events in Ghana.
The Fund said it will also refrain from commenting on the bill until it is signed into law and its economic and financial implications are thoroughly assessed.
The IMF however pointed out that should that happen, it will then assess the economic and financial implications of the decision by Ghana to pass the bill into law.
Ghana has been seeking a bailout from the IMF following an economic downturn. The first and second tranches have hit the Bank of Ghana’s account. However, with the passage of the Bill, Ghana’s prospects of securing the third tranche have become uncertain.
Following the news of Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ legislation, the country’s dollar bonds experienced a decline, ranking as the second-worst performers in a Bloomberg index monitoring emerging-market sovereign hard-currency debt on Thursday.
All 14 of Ghana’s dollar notes in the gauge saw a drop in value, with the bonds maturing in 2034 experiencing the most significant impact, plummeting to 43.34 cents on the dollar, marking their lowest level since January 12.
In related development, a Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School, Godfred Bokpin, says the country’s decision to declare its stance on the controversial LGBTQ+ issue is justified.
According to him, globally, issues regarding sexual orientation are becoming contentious. Therefore, it was right for the country to declare its stance.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfileon March 2, Professor Bokpin said “If you look at it across Africa and the world it was not lost on me that at a point in time, Ghana had to take a position as a country and we could no longer be neutral along those discussions given those dynamics that were emerging. Especially other countries have responded quite strictly and all of that. So, for me, I think that it is just the right thing that the country has done.”
Professor Bokpin, while acknowledging that he did not have expertise in legal matters, said that even in economics, whenever policies are established, they often reflect the cultural values of the people.
Therefore, enacting a law based on the principles of their cultural values is justified.
“So context is important. So I can look at it from the perspective of policy formulation. Macroeconomic policy, fiscal policy, monetary policy you can not disaggregate or hold constant culture, values, and all of that even in formulation of tax policy and the rest of them. So I do not lean toward the idea that cultural values, and moral values can not be a basis.
“In fact it is a distinguishing feature of one society from the other, one country to the other and for purposes of contextualizing even theory, the issues of cultural values and all of that all play a role,” he added.
His comments follow the debate surrounding the recent passage of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.
However, Prof Bokpin disputes these claims; emphasising that the bill has united the populace.
Meanwhile, pressure mounts on President Akufo-Addo to assent to the bill.
