What has sex got to do with Ghana’s development?

Probably, nothing has caused a moral uproar and outrage – and rightly so – than the establishment of an LGBT office in Accra.  Indeed, in Ghana, our national priority on our agenda is not the rights of LGBT. No, not at all. It is the right to move Ghana beyond aid – to develop.

True, like all humans we must accord individuals of LGBT state protection from persecution, their universal Human Rights and equality rights under the 1992 Constitution. 

They add nothing, however, to our developmental agenda. Indeed, at best, they subvert our common-sense beliefs and traditions of our gender roles; and challenge our notion of a family entity. As well, it threatens parliament to introduce legislation to accommodate their lifestyle- all with the tacit support of the US and the European Union.

In fact, in their article, ‘Is tolerance good or bad for growth?’: JSTOR,  Vol. 150, No. 1/2, January 2012, pps. 213-304 Berggen & Elinder assert that “there is no empirical analysis of how LGBT people affect the economic development of a nation.

Of course, the US and the European Union continue to be our major development partners. Truth be told, however, in view of our pressing development challenges, the LGBT establishment and agenda in Ghana has never been a part of Ghana’s socio-economic agenda.”

Like Saudi Arabia and many desert countries in the gulf, Ghana needs science and technology for development projects. Examples include the production, purification and distillation of water as well as uninterrupted electricity supplies for her citizenry, not to mention a fair international price for our cocoa, timber and other natural and mineral resources.

What seems to be the reason for the obsession with gays and lesbians agenda in addition to Ghana’s numerous economic hardships? How can a society, which is unable and incapable of providing decent water and electricity supply to her citizenry be so consumed with European and American legal values of LGBT? When did gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders find the political space on the president’s agenda?

One would expect strategic decision-making considerations to influence a President’s agenda. So I ask: Is it politically feasible that the Executive arm of government can influence the current parliament to pass a bill into law to accommodate LGBT?

Besides, what suggests that the Clergy, Christians and faith communities within the framework of  Ghana’s customs and traditions will accept the solemnisation and legalisation of homosexuals and would it be politically astute for the government’s credibility to accommodate the establishment of LGBT?

The truth is that in spite of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Humans Rights and the incorporation into its domestic laws, and despite its first-class development and industrialisation for the past 400 years, it was in 2003 in the case of Lawrence v Texas 539(U.S) 558 (2003), that saw the remaining Sodomy laws declared unconstitutional in the United States.

Clearly, we are in an unnecessary rush; have side-stepped our priorities; lost track of our national agenda and caved into the sexual politics of the West, whose aim is to capture our political narrative and influence our agenda politics.

We must arrest the mobilisation and politicisation of the LGBT and resist the west to dictate to their Sexual imposition, preferences and interest.

Thus, we must resurrect the ‘Ghana beyond aid’ agenda and place it front and centre in Ghana’s International Relations to develop and industrialise.

 

By Seth Kwame Awuku