By Thomas Naadi BBC News, Accra
President Akufo-Addo vowed to reassure the international community that Ghana was committed to upholding human rights.
Nana Akufo-Addo, president of Ghana, has stated that he won’t support an anti-gay bill until the Supreme Court rules on its constitutionality.
Prior to the passage of the law, the finance department warned that billions of dollars in World Bank money could be lost.
It was approved by MPs last week and sentences those who identify as LGBTQ+ to up to three years in prison.
Before it was passed by parliament, human rights organizations filed a lawsuit.
Gay sex now constitutes a three-year jail sentence in Ghana.
The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, the proposed strong new policy, was supported by both of Ghana’s main political parties, but it cannot pass without the government’s approval.
Both the UK and the US have frequently disapproved of the bill, and rights organizations have criticized it as being anti-regressive.
Akufo-Addo, President, had recently stated that he would sign it if the majority of Ghanaians wanted him to.
However, he is now trying to persuade the international community that Ghana is committed to upholding human rights.
He acknowledged that the bill “raised extensive concerns in some quarters of the international community and among some Ghanaian friends that she may be turning her back on her previously wonderful, historic record on human rights observance and attachment to the rule of law.”
“I want to assure you that no such back-sliding will be contemplated or carried out.”
According to the nation’s finance ministry, Ghana could lose a total of $3.8 billion (£3 billion) in World Bank funding over the next five to six years.
Ghana is experiencing a significant economic crisis, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) helped the country bail out last year.
Before December’s scheduled presidential and parliamentary votes, it’s doubtful that the Supreme Court will make a decision in this case.
Citizens will elect a new president because Mr. Akufo-Addo will step down after two terms.
