The Director of Business Operations at Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson, has emphasized the pivotal choice facing Ghana regarding foreign aid and the potential economic consequences linked to the enactment of the Anti-Gay Bill.
In light of the Ministry of Finance’s appeal to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to withhold assent to the recently passed anti-LGBTQ bill by Parliament, Joe Jackson underscores the need for a critical decision.
He has urged the nation to contemplate whether it should accept foreign aid with humility or brace itself for potential economic repercussions associated with the implementation of the Anti-Gay Bill.
On Monday, March 4, the Finance Ministry issued a press release warning that the bill’s approval could have severe financial implications for Ghana. The Ministry’s analysis suggests that Ghana could lose an estimated USD$3.8 billion in World Bank funding over the next five to six years.
The projected impact for 2024 alone includes a loss of USD$600 million in budget support and USD$250 million for the Financial Stability Fund, which could negatively affect Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves and exchange rate stability.
The Ministry further advised the President to engage with religious bodies to discuss the bill’s implications and to establish a strong coalition and framework to support key development initiatives.
In an interview with Nii Larte Lartey on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Monday, Mr Jackson concurred with the Finance Ministry’s assessment of the potential challenges Ghana could face if the bill is signed into law.
He highlighted that the country is currently in severe financial distress, having not paid its commercial debts since December 2022.
“The ministry of finance, I believe, has articulated very, very clearly what the challenges are. No one can fault them for what they have said. I agree with a lot of the things said. The truth of the matter is that I find it unfortunate that at this time in our economic life, we have created such an issue out of these LGBTI rights and made it a matter of national pride.
“We’ve been broke for a long time, we have not been paying our debts. We have not even paid our commercial debts since December 18th 2022. Not only are we broke even though the IMF bailout was made because of geopolitical considerations, but it is not, particularly because we met the debt sustainability criteria.
“Real politics tells you that when you go cup in hand to beg people to give you a bailout, you may have to swallow some of your pride. You may have to swallow some of the issues that you don’t like. So, the issue is very clear, and it is up to us all Ghanaians because I believe that this issue has bipartisan support.”
“If we insist on this bill, we must be able to understand the hardship that may come with not getting the aid we want because then we will be saying that our pride says that we can’t walk away from this. If the fear of the economic repercussions is as bad as some of us think and feel and the Ministry of Finance have articulated then we may want to rethink this process. I worry that even the alternatives suggested will take some time to get through,” he stated.
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