Respect our views on homosexuality – Speaker tells World bank

The Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Ocquaye, has asked the World Bank to respect Ghana’s views on homosexuality.

Prof. Ocquaye has been a vociferous advocate against the legalisation of homosexuality in Ghana.

The speaker, who doubles as a Pastor,  told the Country Director for the World Bank, Pierre Frank Laporte, that the practice of tying aids to the recognition of gay rights and marriages in Africa is unhealthy.

“The World Bank should dissociate itself from some of this modern reinterpretation of human rights and with special reference to the African’s conceptualization, for example, gay rights. If we don’t like it, respect our view and don’t link it to aids, assistance, economic development because they have nothing to do with that.

“We are not for example in Ghana castrating people because they are gays and we are not engaged in any anti-human rights issue…It is time we look at this new interpretation of human rights which is gaining economic underpinnings in global relationships,” he said during a courtesy call by Mr Laporte.

On his part, the country director gave the assurance that the World Bank is clear in its mind the role it wants to play in eradicating extreme poverty and ensuring development through a partnership.

This is not the first time the speaker of Ghana’s parliament Prof. Mike Ocquaye has spoken against the legalization of homosexuality.

In May 2018 the speaker said he will resign from his job if the house should consider considering a bill to legalize homosexuality.

He said he will not be part of any agenda to legalise homosexuality because it is evil and against his Christian faith.

“If anybody should bring such a thing to Parliament and I have to preside over that, I will rather resign than subscribe to this delusion”, he said.

His comments were however criticized by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Prof. Philip Alston.

He said the Speaker was deluding himself if he thought the number of gays in Ghana was not significant enough.

Prof. Alston said, “I believe that if he thinks there is not a very significant proportion of gay people in Ghana, he is deluding himself. You cannot wish away a physical fact. The percentage of gay people in any population is significant”.

He added that “I don’t think it is appropriate for politicians to publicly align themselves with hateful positions against any other population…I think if he comes out and says that people with a certain kind of sexual orientation are not allowed to be themselves in this country that is equally unacceptable, that is what human rights are all about”.