Ghana’s president delays decision on controversial anti-gay bill

ACCRA, Ghana — Ghana’s president has delayed making a decision on an anti-gay bill due to a Supreme Court challenge, a move that could enable him to avoid choosing between a $4 billion hole in World Bank funding and scuppering his party’s chances in December’s elections.

The bill, which imposes a three-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+ and has attracted international criticism from rights groups, requires President Nana Akufo-Addo’s assent to become law. Akufo-Addo, nearing the end of his second term in power ahead of a presidential election in December to choose his successor, has previously said he would sign the bill into law if it was supported by the majority of Ghanaians.

The president, late on Monday, said a challenge had been mounted at the Supreme Court. “It would be as well for all of us to hold our hands and await the decision of the Court before any action is taken,” the president said in his first public comments on the bill since its passed last week. The court’s deliberations could extend beyond the end of his time in office.

The finance ministry, in a document seen by Semafor Africa, has warned that the bill could trigger the loss of $3.8 billion in World Bank financing over the next five to six years and “derail” the country’s $3 billion IMF loan deal if it becomes law.

But Ghanaians typically frown upon same-sex relationships and any failure to sign could cost Akufo-Addo’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) whose candidate in December’s election will be Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.

The bill was backed by Ghana’s two biggest parties, including the NPP. Earlier this year the leading opposition candidate John Mahama, a former president, publicly stated that gay marriage was against his Christian beliefs, though he did not state whether or not he supported the bill.

Similar anti-gay legislation in Uganda prompted the United States to remove the East African country from the African Growth and Opportunity Act AGOA which offers participants favorable trade terms. The U.S. said it was “deeply troubled” by the passage of Ghana’s bill in parliament.

Ghana would lose the ability to export products tariff free to the world’s biggest economy if it was removed from AGOA. Some $700 million of Ghana’s exports to the U.S. in 2022 was through AGOA.

One beneficiary of AGOA has been Ghana-based American apparel manufacturer DTRT which employs more than 5,000 workers at two plants in Accra and Tema and exports to retailers in the U.S. Its co-founders told Semafor Africa that if the bill is passed into law it would put thousands of jobs at risk if the U.S. suspends Ghana from AGOA. “It would be horrible for the business, but we believe the president and his successors understand the risks,” said Skip Richmond, co-founder/CEO of DTRT Group.

Dr Daniel Amartey, an economist, said other markets, including Europe, would also act if the bill became law. “If they follow those lines, it will affect our trade volumes and, as an economy that is trying to bring back macroeconomic stability, that will be a big blow.”

The legal challenge has given President Akufo-Addo a way to delay making a decision that would be damaging in some way. The economic implications of assenting to the law are potentially dire, as the finance ministry outlined in its briefing document — and that report focused on the World Bank funding without engaging with the possibility of action on AGOA. It’s worth remembering that the IMF’s bailout was a vital lifeline when the country grappled with its worst economic crisis in a generation. Ghana isn’t out of the woods yet. As the finance ministry warned, there could be “dire consequences on the debt restructuring exercise and Ghana’s long term debt sustainability.”

Despite the economic concerns, it could be problematic for the NPP if its president was deemed to be thwarting the will of the people in a socially conservative country over a bill that had overwhelming support from the main parties and was sponsored by a coalition of Christian, Muslim, and traditional leaders. As the saying goes, “all politics is local.” With that in mind, Akufo-Addo may find himself under growing pressure from within his party to avoid turning this into an issue that scuppers his deputy’s chances of succeeding him. That means the Supreme Court’s handling will play a crucial role in what happens next.

Perhaps above all, Akufo-Addo will need to reckon with his legacy. He risks being remembered by some at home as a leader who presided over a huge economic crisis and, as a parting shot, heeded the wishes of Western institutions over his country’s parliamentarians. But, as a man well respected for his oratorical skills, the president is probably hoping to begin a new chapter as a roving statesman who brokers peace deals, leads election observer missions and delivers after dinner speeches to policymakers. That seems less likely if he approves the bill.

Disqualification from AGOA would not be as painful as many assume, argue some Ghanaian manufacturers and exporters.

Seth Twum Akwaboah, executive secretary of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) trade body that represents more than 4,000 businesses, told Semafor Africa local manufacturers are not able to produce the volumes needed to make trading under the AGOA beneficial. ”There are challenges that are affecting business domestically including the high cost of production, lack of capital for expansion and a weak value chain,” he said.

Edwina Assan, who chairs the garments, textiles and leather sector within AGI, said: “We are not really benefiting so if it [Ghana] is taken off, that’s fine.”

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni played down the impact of his country’s expulsion from AGOA when it was announced by Washington last year. In a post on X in November, he urged citizens not to be overly concerned. “We have the capacity to achieve our growth and transformation targets, even if some of the actors do not support us,” adding that some “erroneously think that African countries cannot move forward without their support.”