Ghana refuses to grant gays' rights despite aid threat

[Alpha Blondy]

Ghana's President John Atta Mills has rejected the UK's threat to cut aid if he refuses to legalise homosexuality.

 

Mr Atta Mills said the UK could not impose its values on Ghana and he would never legalise homosexuality.

 

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said at the weekend that aid would be cut to countries which failed to respect gay rights.

 

Uganda also rejected the threat, with an official accusing the UK of showing a "bullying mentality".

 

Most Africans argue that homosexuality violates their religious and cultural beliefs.

 

Mr Atta Mills said Mr Cameron was entitled to his views, but he did not have the right to "direct to other sovereign nations as to what they should do".

 

He said Ghana's "societal norms" were different from those in the UK.

 

"I, as president, will never initiate or support any attempt to legalise homosexuality in Ghana," Mr Atta Mills said.

 

'No compromise'

On Monday, Ugandan presidential adviser John Nagenda said Mr Cameron was showing a "bullying mentality" and Ugandans would not tolerate being treated like "children".

 

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If that aid is going to be tied to things that will destroy the moral fibre of society, do you really want that?”

 

Koku Anyidoho

Ghana's presidential spokesman

"If they must take their money, so be it," Mr Nagenda said.

 

Mr Cameron said he had raised the issue of gay rights at last week's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia.

 

Ending the bans on homosexuality was one of the recommendations of an internal report into the future relevance of the Commonwealth.

 

Mr Cameron's threat applies only to one type of bilateral aid known as general budget support, and would not reduce the overall amount of aid to any one country, correspondents say.

 

Ghana received bilateral aid from the UK of about £90m ($144m) during the last financial year, of which about £36m was as general budget support.

 

Mr Atta Mills' communications chief Koku Anyidoho told the BBC the government would not compromise its morals for money.

 

"If that aid is going to be tied to things that will destroy the moral fibre of society, do you really want that?" he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

 

Mr Cameron said he had spoken with "a number of African countries" and that more pressure had been applied by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, who deputised for him during parts of the Commonwealth summit.

 

Some 41 nations within the 54-member Commonwealth have laws banning homosexual acts.

 

Many of these laws are a legacy of British colonial rule, correspondents say.

 

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its over! the UK has gone to the dogs. policy decisions like these mark the irrelevance of the uk.

[Somalia]

Standing up for principle, I like it!

[Nin-Yaaban]

Alpha Blondy;755423 wrote:

Ghana refuses to grant gays' rights despite aid threat

Good for them. Don't see anything wrong with it.

[Gheelle.T]

It's time for the African continent to move forward and and become self reliance. This foreign Aids should be stopped all together. Yes to investment and no to Aid.

[Alderman]

Western donors should really stop giving aid to these corrupt and backward countries.

[Alderman]

Do these countries that receive aid not know that we live in the 21st century?

[pink]

Alderman;755658 wrote:

Do these countries that receive aid not know that we live in the 21st century?

do you think that africa should give gays rights then?

[rudy-Diiriye]

how can u give gay rights when there are no human rights!! lol... Crazy Africa. First lets fix the human rights issue, then africans can add gay, monkeys, camels, etc...rights.

[pink]

dude africa will be the only gay free continent in the world, and somalia definitely will never allow such disgusting human beings to live in its lands allhamdulilah

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

I am really glad, pun intended, that finally Aid is being tied to improvements in human rights. Leave it to a conservative to come up with this, much respect to the PM. Also, this really a clear distinction between Euro conservatives and American conservatives. An American con, would be in office thinking about how to replace food aid with bible aid and secretly support all the american preachers who are responsible for all this none sense about making gay people illegal. Its really unfortunate that this will not result in aid cuts across the board.

[Nin-Yaaban]

pink;756134 wrote:

dude africa will be the only gay free continent in the world, and somalia definitely will never allow such disgusting human beings to live in its lands allhamdulilah

Says the dude with the PINK. Yea right.

[The Zack]

Naxar Nugaaleed;756169 wrote:

that finally Aid is being tied to improvements in human rights..

^Improving gay rights is an improvement?

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

gay rights does not fall under human rights in your book?

[The Zack]

^Why dodge the question? It was simple closed question. Yer or no would have done it. The only thing is I and many others would've walked out of this thread throwing up on our way out if you if you would've said yes.

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

yes lol, proceed sir