UK can keep its aid - President tells Cameron
President John Evans Atta Mills has officially responded to threats by UK's Prime Minister David Cameron to cut aid to countries with anti-gay legislation saying Ghana would not accept any aid that has homosexuality strings attached to it.
He said Britain cannot dictate to Ghana what to do, adding that the country would not in any way bow to such pressure because it is at variance with the country's constitution.
The president, speaking to journalists in response to Prime Minister Cameron’s threat to cut UK aid to African countries which abuse the rights of gay citizens, said Ghana will not capitulate to the United Kingdom or any country for that matter.
"No one can deny Prime Minister Cameron his right to make policies, take initiatives or make statements that reflect his societal norms and ideals but he does not have the right to direct other sovereign nations as to what they should do especially where their societal norms and ideals are different from those which exist in Prime Minister's society," he stated.
He said Ghana will not legalise homosexuality on the say-so of Mr Cameron. "I as president of this nation will never initiate or support any attempt to legalise homosexuality in Ghana," he asserted.
President Mills maintained that Britain cannot tell Ghana what to do on her cultural and moral values. Ghana, he said, will continue to operate within its constitution regardless of any threats from any country.
The President said Ghana will not accept aid with conditions which have the tendency to destroy the social fabric of the society.
"Let me also say that whiles we acknowledge all the financial assistance and all the aid which has been given to us by our development partners, we will not accept any aid with strings attached if that aid will not inure to our interest or the implementation or the utilisation of that aid with strings attached would rather worsen our plight as a nation or destroy the very society that we want to use the money to improve," the president said.
Ghana's laws like many African countries frown on homosexuality and lesbianism, but the UK PM has threatened to cut aid to African countries whose laws are stiff on gays.
The Prime Minister’s comment has been received with strong condemnation from a lot of Ghanaians asking the UK to keep its aid if such conditionality is enforced.
Cameron, in a recent interview with BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, threatened to cut aid to anti-gay countries, declaring that nations receiving British aid should "adhere to proper human rights."
Cameron said he raised the issue with some of the states involved at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia.
The comments received bitter criticism from Ghanaians, especially religious leaders, who said the British premier lacked understanding of Ghana's cultural values.
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