The President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, has said Ghana must be prepared to reject foreign aid if such assistance comes with conditions that conflict with the country’s values and national interests.
His remarks follow Parliament’s passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.
The revised legislation criminalises LGBTQ+ activities but includes exemptions for lawyers providing legal services to LGBTQ+ persons, journalists reporting on LGBTQ+ issues, and medical or mental health professionals offering healthcare, psychological support, or counselling services.
The bill has sparked significant debate both in Ghana and internationally. Supporters say it is necessary to safeguard Ghanaian family and cultural values, while critics argue it undermines constitutional rights and could have implications for the country’s international relations and donor support.
Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News on Friday, May 29, Most Rev. Gyamfi questioned the value and purpose of some forms of international assistance, particularly when they come with attached conditions.
“There is a whole ethics and philosophy even about aid that we receive from so-called donors and even for us to think whether they are really aid and if that aid really aids us,” he said.
He suggested that Ghana could become more self-reliant if it reduces dependence on external support tied to conditions that contradict its beliefs and priorities.
“Probably if they remove the aid, we will become better. We may not need the aid that they give us,” he stated.
The Catholic Bishop stressed that Ghana must be willing to defend its core national interests, even if doing so risks losing financial support from development partners.
“If this is a unique essential existential interest to Ghana, then if they say if you don’t do this, we will not give you aid, then we say take your aid and we can survive,” he stressed.
Most Rev. Gyamfi maintained that Ghana should prioritise self-sufficiency rather than reliance on aid tied to conditions that he believes undermine national principles.
“That means we can be able to be self-sufficient and self-supporting in the main issues,” he added.
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