The Ambassador was accompanied by the Mission Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other staff of the Embassy.

The two discussed issues of mutual concern and importance, such as human rights, inter-ethnic coexistence, the maltreatment of alleged witchcraft suspects, and peacebuilding in Dagbon and Northern Ghana at large.

The Ya-Na expressed his profound appreciation to the Ambassador for the work of U.S. Government agencies in Ghana, especially USAID and the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), among others.

He commended USAID for supporting the Dagbon Constitutional Review process, which the Overlord described as a new lease of life for the people of Dagbon.

His Majesty indicated that peacebuilding among all people in Dagbon, including minority tribes in the Kingdom, is a top priority of his agenda as the Ruler of the ancient Kingdom.

He underscored the need for everyone to support his vision of a united Dagbon at peace with itself and its neighbours, in prosperity.

Ambassador Palmer praised the Overlord for his sterling leadership and efforts, describing him as an example of leadership for African traditional rulers.

She mentioned the need for women and young people to receive greater attention in the Overlord’s development priorities.

Ambassador Palmer was pleased that the Ya-Na emphasized eliminating the banishment of women on alleged witchcraft and the maltreatment of poor and vulnerable people on similar allegations.

She mentioned the readiness of the U.S. Embassy to work with the Office of the Ya-Na to undertake projects and programs that will enhance the capacity of the people of Dagbon and increase information flow to all people in the area to foster development.

Dalun Lana, Tapha Mahamadu III, on behalf of His Majesty the Ya-Na, presented the 10-year Dagbon Strategic Development Plan to the Ambassador during the meeting.

The U.S. assistance will support the Government of Ghana’s relief efforts to save lives, reduce suffering, and begin recovery, a statement from the embassy in Accra on Tuesday, 31 October said.

“I am pleased to announce just over GH¢1.1 million to assist those affected by the flooding in the Volta Region,” U.S. ambassador to Ghana Virginia Palmer announced at the launch of the U.S. Global Water Strategy Plan for Ghana in Accra on Friday.

“We are working with the World Food Programme to assist those most in need.”

In addition to the GH¢1.1 million, USAID through the USAID/Enhancing Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (En-WASH) project in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and local government, has already provided chlorine concentrate for disinfection of communal latrines, drainage canals, among others.

USAID also provided local residents with 175,000 tablets of Aqua tabs for the treatment and purification of 3.5 million liters of drinking water to prevent the outbreak of water-borne diseases.

“The United States is Ghana’s largest bilateral development partner. In 2022, our bilateral assistance totaled over US$150 million dedicated to supporting health, economic growth and agriculture, education, governance, and security,” the statement added.

The United States is committed to supporting the people and government of Ghana, including during this humanitarian and health emergency,” it said.

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The US Ambassador stated that Ghana will be less attractive to American companies and LGBTQ investors with the passage of the controversial bill.

The outspoken legislator in a post on Facebook said “Ghana remains welcoming and open to American investors as a stable, viable democracy. We welcome investors who value the principles of integrity and respect the cultural values of their partners.”

To him, Ghana passing the bill should not be a big deal as some US states have similar laws.

“I am confident it should not be a worry as our intended legislation is NOT different from American laws in states like Florida and Kentucky. I believe the US Supreme Court agrees largely with Ghana’s position,” he added.

Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has insisted that the anti-LGBTQ bill by the end of the year.

He indicated that Parliament will not be intimidated by no institution or country from doing its work. 

The anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, which is currently under consideration by Parliament, aims to criminalise LGBTQ+ activities, prohibit the promotion and advocacy of LGBTQ+ content, and provide protection and support for children and individuals involved in LGBTQ+ issues.

Below is his post:

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The US Ambassador said the passage of the controversial bill will have dire repercussions which could affect trade and investment in the country.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, August 10, Ambassador Palmer said Ghana will be less welcoming to American companies and LGBTQ investors. 

She, thus, said she hopes Ghana stays welcoming to these groups and American companies for business and other support. 

“Lots of ethnic communities make Ghana strong, stable, and attractive for investments. I hope it stays that way with regard to the LGBTQ community.

“They should be managed to be made the colour of the money green or red if it’s Ghanaian, but if it is discrimination, then that will send a signal not to [only] LGBTQ investors and exporters but to other American companies.”

“Then Ghana will be less welcoming…so I hope it stays that welcoming,” the US Ambassador to Ghana Virginia Palmer said

Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has insisted that the anti-LGBTQ bill will be passed by the end of the year.

According to him, Parliament will not be intimidated by no institution or country from doing its work. 

He gave the assurance to the Coalition of the Muslim Organisation of Ghana in an acceptance statement of an honorary title as Saifu_llah meaning the ‘Sword of God at Parliament. 

The anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, which is currently under consideration by Parliament, aims to criminalise LGBTQ+ activities, prohibit the promotion and advocacy of LGBTQ+ content, and provide protection and support for children and individuals involved in LGBTQ+ issues.

In Parliament on July 5, all 275 Members of Parliament (MPs) unanimously approved the passage of the anti-LGBTQ Bill.

This came after months of public debate and ratification of the 36-page document by the legislators and stakeholders since its introduction in 2021.

Also, the Supreme Court of Ghana dismissed an application in July 2023 seeking to injunct the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from continuing with the consideration of the bill.

The application was filed by a researcher named Dr Amanda Odoi, who argued that the ongoing consideration of the bill is a breach of Article 108 of the 1992 Constitution.

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In its 2021 annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the US Department of State expressed concern about significant human rights issues such as “crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or intersex persons; existence of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults.”

Speaking on Foreign Affairs with Blessed Sogah on JoyNews channel, Friday, December 10, 2022 the foreign diplomat noted that discrimination of all kinds is bad, hence the need for social protection measures to protect the minority group. 

“I also want to be really clear that we are not trying to be promoting homosexuality or anything like that. We don’t want your straight children to be gay, we want your gay children to be safe and I think it is very important that any sort of threat on one group demonstrates that rights of other people can be encroached upon and discrimination of any kind frankly, is bad,” she said.

Recounting experiences of close family relations on discrimination and repression, the ambassador noted that, “My family has experienced discrimination. I think Ghanaians and African and African- Americans have all experienced discrimination.”

“When my husband and I were courting, he’s South African, it was illegal in South Africa because the immorality act made inter-racial couples illegal. But now we’ve been married almost forty years, but people are like really? How could that ever have been illegal?  And I hope that someday we will feel like that about women and children who are being discriminated against. Discrimination is harmful,” she added.

The materials will reach over 11,000 schools which have not already received the materials.

The materials are designed to enable teachers to deliver engaging and effective reading lessons and improve pupils’ ability to read.

“The U.S. Government is pleased to support the Ministry of Education and its agencies in providing 3.7 million books to over 11,000 schools across Ghana. We are delighted that these materials were developed here in Ghana by Ghanaian writers, illustrators, designers, and editors, making them both relevant and engaging for students,” Ambassador Palmer said.

“Printing these books in Ghana also created dozens of jobs and contributes to prosperity in the United States and Ghana,” she added.

Through the partnership for education programme, the US government has increased the availability of quality materials in schools to improve teaching and learning and provided more than 10 million learning materials to Ghana since 2014.

The materials include teacher guides, pupils books, supplementary leveled readers, and classroom materials including alphabet cards and word cards in English, all aligned to the new curriculum, for B1, B2 and B3 grade levels.

The book donation represents a U$5 million investment, a part of the larger, nearly US$100 million overall U.S. investment in education in Ghana over the past eight years.

The collaboration between USAID and Ghana’s Ministry of Education is one of the key partnerships between the United States and Ghana and supports the early grade reading of learners in Ghana.

Since 2014, working together, the U.S. government and Government of Ghana have trained over 70,000 teachers, headteachers, and curriculum leads, and reached over 750,000 pupils.

The latest donation will bring the number of schools supported from 7,200 to over 16,000 across Ghana.