Ghana’s finance ministry has urged the country’s President Nana Akufo-Addo to defer signing controversial anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, unanimously passed by lawmakers last week, because, if made law, it could lead to a loss of $3.8 billion in World Bank financing over the next five to six years.
The finance ministry wants Akufo-Addo to wait until the Supreme Court rules on whether the law aligns with the constitution.
According to Reuters, the legislation will intensify a crackdown on the rights of LGBTQ+ people and those accused of promoting lesbian, gay or other minority sexual or gender identities.
The bill’s passage through parliament comes as the West African country tries to free itself from a deep economic crisis and debt default with the help of a $3 billion IMF loan programme secured last year and financing from the World Bank.
Reuters reports that in an internal document it has seen, the finance ministry warned that Ghana was likely to lose US$3.8 billion in World Bank financing over the next five to six years, negatively impacting foreign exchange reserves and exchange rate stability. Losing World Bank funding would in turn ‘derail’ the IMF program, triggering a negative market reaction that would affect exchange rate stability, it added.