Ghana - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Could Ghana’s tough anti-LGBTQ+ bill be blocked over economic fears?

PARLIAMENT'S approval of a bill cracking down on LGBTQ+ people in Ghana has raised fears in the government that the country could lose international aid vital to help its economy recover from a deep crisis. If President Nana Akufo-Addo ignores Finance Ministry advice and signs the bill into law, penalties for gay sex would be toughened and new offences introduced. Akufo-Addo has said he will wait for the outcome of a Supreme Court challenge over the constitutionality of the bill, which the Finance Ministry has warned could jeopardise nearly $4 billion in World Bank financing. Here's what you need to know.…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Ghana Deputy Finance Minister John Kumah has died

NEWS

GHANA'S Deputy Finance Minister John Kumah has died, the finance ministry's spokesperson said. There was no additional information on the circumstances of the 45-year-old's death. Kumah, a lawyer by training and a father of six, assumed office as deputy finance minister in 2021.

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

African Games 2024: is it really worth it for Ghana to host the mega sport event?

NEWS

THE African Games, formerly the All-African Games, is taking place from 8-23 March in Ghana. Scheduled for 2023, they were postponed due to a regional impasse over marketing rights, delays in getting facilities ready and Ghana’s growing economic crisis. Kamilla Swart researches and teaches sport mega-events. We asked her about the African Games’ potential for sports tourism and about the pros and cons of hosting it. KAMILLA SWART, Associate Professor, Hamad Bin Khalifa University What is the African Games? The African Games is a multi-sport event held every four years, generally one year before the Olympic Games. It’s positioned as…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Ghana: can contract farming help smallholder farmers build resilience to climate change?

ENVIRONMENT

In northern Ghana, many smallholder farmers who grow crops on less than one hectare of land each are entering into contract farming. This gives them guaranteed buyers for their crops. Human geographer and climate change adaptation expert Frederick Dapilah has found that contract farming offers many lessons about building resilience in the face of climate change. FREDERICK DAPILAH, Senior Lecturer, Department of Community Development, SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies What is contract farming? Contract farming is when farmers grow crops to meet contracts they have signed with buyers. They agree on a fixed price upfront. As…

Mar

2024

By COOPER INVEEN

Ghana LGBTQ activist says friends in hiding after crackdown bill passes

NEWS

GHANAIAN trans woman and activist Angel Maxine fled to Berlin before parliament passed an anti-LGBTQ bill. She fears for the safety of the friends she has had to leave behind. Lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously passed the legislation that will intensify a crackdown on the rights of LGBTQ people and those accused of promoting lesbian, gay or other minority sexual or gender identities in the West African country. "I needed a safe place to continue my work as an activist," said Maxine, who left the country last week. "The threats were just so much and I had to just find a way…

Mar

2024

By KWADWO APPIAGYEI-ATUA

Ghana’s new anti-homosexuality bill violates everyone’s rights, not just LGBTIQ+ people – expert

NEWS

GHANA'S new anti-homosexuality bill infringes several rights and freedoms, not only of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) people but of heterosexuals too. The bill has been in the works since 2021 when it was tabled in parliament as a private member’s bill. The objective of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill is to provide for human sexual rights and family values and for related matters. KWADWO APPIAGYEI-ATUA, Associate Professor of Law, University of Ghana At the heart of the contention about the proposed law is the question of discrimination, its purpose and its effect of…

Feb

2024

By MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA

Ghana’s new finance minister pledges to keep IMF programme on track

BUSINESS

GHANA'S new finance minister, Mohammed Amin Adam, pledged to keep its $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme on track as it aims to finish restructuring its overseas debt before an election in December. President Nana Akufo-Addo replaced Ken Ofori-Atta with Adam, a petroleum economist who was minister of state at the finance ministry, in a cabinet reshuffle after criticism of the ex-banker's leadership during the West African country's worst economic crisis in a generation. Ofori-Atta negotiated the IMF bailout loan to address the crisis, which saw inflation and debt servicing costs spiral upwards in 2022. He was, alongside Adam, seeking relief…

Feb

2024

By CHRISTIAN AKORLIE and MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA

Ghana president replaces finance minister in reshuffle

NEWS

GHANA'S president has replaced finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta in a cabinet reshuffle after criticism of the ex-banker's leadership during the West African country's worst economic crisis in a generation. The office of President Nana Akufo-Addo said that Ofori-Atta would be replaced by Mohammed Amin Adam, currently the minister of state at the finance ministry and previously deputy energy minister responsible for the petroleum sector. It did not give a reason for the change. Ofori-Atta has been overseeing Ghana's debt restructuring efforts after the West African gold, oil and cocoa producer defaulted on most of its external debt in December 2022.…

Feb

2024

By MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA

Ghana LGBTQ+ activists see church blessings as distant luxury

NEWS

IN a country where religious leaders openly condemn homosexuality and gay sex is punishable with jail time, Ghanaian couple Kay and Naa Shika fear more for their lives and safety than whether a church will bless their same-sex union. They have lived together for eight months, hiding their relationship by pretending to be sisters, even as they face gossip that risks spilling into hostility due to suspicions about their sexual orientation. "We are not safe," said 27-year-old Kay, a lesbian woman who spoke to Reuters in the capital Accra on condition that she and her partner's real names were not…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Ghana wants to make importing food like rice and tomatoes more costly: expert explains why it’s a bad idea

NEWS

GHANA, like many other developing nations, relies heavily on imports of food and consumer goods to feed its population. For instance, Ghana imports 55% of the rice that is consumed locally. The country’s import dependence is primarily a consequence of the production of low-value primary products without substantial value addition. SYLVANUS KWAKU AFESORGBOR, Associate Professor, Agri-Food Trade and Policy, University of Guelph To forestall over-dependence on foreign goods, the government has proposed a trade-restrictive policy via a legislative instrument on 22 major items. It has justified the policy on the grounds that it wants to reduce Ghana’s dependence on foreign…