President John Dramani Mahama has cautioned multilateral financial institutions against interfering in Ghana’s domestic policies, particularly on cultural and social matters.
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Next Africa, Mahama firmly stated that global financial bodies like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should refrain from imposing cultural standards on sovereign nations.
“Multilateral institutions should avoid getting into cultural matters,” he asserted. “This is a diverse world. We have different cultures.”
Mahama’s comments come amid ongoing debates regarding the influence of international institutions on Ghana’s policies, especially on issues like LGBTQ+ rights. He made it clear that while these organizations have the right to withhold funding, they should not use financial support as leverage to dictate cultural norms.
“If they decide to pull [funding], well, it’s their prerogative. But I don’t believe that multilateral institutions like the World Bank and IMF should include in their mandates how people behave culturally,” he emphasized.
The President stressed the need for inclusive dialogue when addressing social issues, urging broad stakeholder engagement in legislative processes.
“What we need is more stakeholder consultation to look at whatever new bill will come and make sure that we carry everybody on board,” he explained.
On the matter of family values, Mahama suggested that education, rather than strict legislation, should be the primary tool for preserving societal norms.
“Proper family values are something we all are interested in. But it’s not only in the bills that we send to parliament to regulate them, it’s also about teaching our children those family values as they grow,” he said.