International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said, in reference to the passage of an anti-LGBTQI bill by Ghana's Parliament that "a more inclusive society is a more successful society".

"You want Ghana to flourish? Make it so that everybody can contribute to the fullest of this country", she said in an interview with Citi TV.

In the bill, individuals engaged in LGBTQI activities or practices face a jail term ranging from six months to three years while promoters and sponsors could be sentenced to three to five years.

President Nana Akufo-Addo says he will wait for a Supreme Court ruling on the matter before taking any action on the bill.

Assuring the international community of Ghana’s commitment to upholding her human rights record, Mr Akufo-Addo said he was aware the passage of the bill has "raised considerable anxieties in certain quarters of the diplomatic community and amongst some friends of Ghana that she may be turning her back on her, hitherto, enviable, longstanding record on human rights observance and attachment to the rule of law." 

"I want to assure you that no such back-sliding will be contemplated or occasioned", the president promised.

“I think it will serve little purpose to go, at this stage, into the details of the origin of this proposed law, which is yet to reach my desk. But, suffice it to say that I have learnt that today, a challenge has been mounted at the Supreme Court by a concerned citizen to the constitutionality of the proposed legislation'.

“In the circumstances, it would be, as well, for all of us to hold our hands, and await the decision of the Court before any action is taken. The operation of the institutions of the Ghanaian state will determine the future trajectory of the rule of law and human rights compliance in our country.”