Razak Kojo Opoku
The Concerned Voters Movement (CVM) has chastised civil society organisations in the country for their ‘loud’ silence on the ongoing Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Intersexual (LGBTQI) discussion that has been going on in the country.
Social and traditional media have been inundated with condemnation since news of a supposed establishment of an office space in Ghana by advocates of LGBTQI broke.
Ghanaians from different walks of life, including the clergy, media, politicians, academics, among others, have condemned the said opening of the office space in the country.
Others have argued that the customs and traditions as well as the laws of the country frown on the act, and should therefore not be entertained.
Loud silence
Strangely, civil society organisations in the country who have been vociferous on a number of issues have gone silent on the raging debate. All attempts by different individuals and groups to get the CSOs to state their position on the matter have proven futile.
CVM in a statement copied to the Daily Statesman and singed by its founder and president, Razak Kojo Opoku, specifically took on the CSOs for their silence on the matter.
Source of funding
CVM accused the CSOs of protecting their pocket against the interest of the state, adding that their inability to openly state their position on the matter is because they are funded by financiers of LGBTQI advocates.
“IMANI led by Franklin Cudjoe is on top of issues when it comes to governance except the issues of LGBTQI.
“The loud silence of IMANI and other Civil Society Organizations on the issues of LGBTQI stems from the fact that, these CSOs receive funding and support from organizations who are strongly behind the LGBTQI community. Therefore, any attempt to hold Government accountable on the LGBTQI would automatically affect their sources of funding,” CVM alleged.
CVM listed some funding agencies, which it says are financiers of LGBTQI, and also finance the CSOs such as the Ford Foundation, which conducts grant-making that benefits the LGBTQI community through its Gender and Racial Justice Programme and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), a grant-making and advocacy foundation that is part of the global Open Society Foundations Network that empower and LGBTQI.
Other financiers, according to CVM, include Open Society Foundation, Overbrook Foundation, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Tides Foundation, Levi Strauss Foundation, Mama Cash, Dreilinden gGmbh, Hivos (NL), Arcus Foundation among others.
“In September 2018, Franklin Cudjoe, Founding President of IMANI Africa, promised to raise funds to support the work of the Special Prosecutor through Ford Foundation and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), and interestingly these two organizations are well known promoters, defenders and activists of LGBTQI Communities.
“IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, Kofi Bentil and Bright Simons can never openly condemn, criticize, oppose and speak against the LGBTQI … Similarly, majority of the prominent CSOs can never condemn, criticize, oppose and speak against LGBTQI due to the fear that their sources of funding will be blocked,” CVM said.
Source: dailystatesman.com.gh
