Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has blamed the recent spate of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) activities in the country on economic hardships.

The statesman indicated that population increase, coupled with the inability of the economy to sustain life in many ways, had led to hardships, as a result of which people tended to care more about survival than morality.

Mr Kufuor said this during a call on him by the leadership of the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values to officially invite him to a national dialogue on LGBT in the country, scheduled for October 29, this year.

The team, which was led by the Executive Secretary and Spokesperson for the coalition, Mr Moses Foh-Amoaning, also included a former Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Dr Opoku Onyinah.

Former President Kufuor added that due to the challenging economic situation, parents hardly cared about imparting morals to their children.

“Now, parents have to wake up early to go to work. By 4 a.m. some have to leave home and sometimes their children, some of whom may be as young as six months old, are sent to crèche without any regard for the value systems of caretakers.

“We have reached an era when parents rarely live with their children to teach them morals and exhibit parental authority on them. Due to this, most children have become vulnerable and they copy some cultures, including LGBT, which are alien to the African society,” he added.

He advised that people be empowered financially to enable them to take care of themselves and their families while inculcating moral and religious values in their children.