Make Ghana a more inclusive society – IMF boss reacts to anti-LGBT+ Bill

• Mar 19, 2024

Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has spoken about Ghana’s anti-LGBT+ Bill.

Asked in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM, whether the Fund, like the World Bank, had issues with the bill, she declined from giving an explicit answer.

She, however, spoke about the need for increased inclusivity in efforts to see Ghana flourish economically.

“I understand that people in Ghana can resort to the courts,” she said in apparent reference to the legal challenge to the Bill’s constitutionality before the Supreme Court.

She continued: “all I can say is that a more inclusive society is a more prosperous society. You want Ghana to flourish, make it so that everybody can contribute to the fullest to this country.”

The Bill, properly known as the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, in its current form, proscribes LGBT activities and criminalises their promotion, advocacy and funding.

Persons caught in these acts would be subjected to six months to a three-year jail term, with promoters and sponsors bearing a three to five-year jail term.

President Akufo-Addo has suspended his decision on whether or not to sign the Bill into law, citing a challenge to its constitutionality in the Supreme Court.

Even if he decides against it, MPs can, by a two-thirds majority, veto the president’s decision and make the provisions of the Bill enforceable.

ghanaweb.com