The Minority Caucus in Parliament is upset over the alleged removal of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill (anti-LBGTQ+) from the Order Paper of Parliament.
The bill, popularly known as anti-LGBTQ+, aims to criminalise same-sex relationships, protect Ghanaian cultural values and restrict gay activities in the country.
The Order Paper is a document that contains activities proposed for deliberation or debate by members of Parliament on the floor of the House on a particular day or week.
Addressing the Parliamentary Press Corps at Parliament House in Accra on Wednesday, the Minority, led by Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, the NPP Member of Parliament for Assin South and a sponsor of the bill, alleged that the NDC government was running away from passing the anti-LBGTQ+ bill into law, hence its attempt to clandestinely remove the bill from the Order Paper.
The Caucus indicated that the bill had undergone all the parliamentary procedures, while the Attorney General’s Office had reviewed and gazetted it; therefore, the bill was due for consequential referral to the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee.
The group, therefore, insisted that the leadership of Parliament must raise an addendum on the bill for its first reading on the floor of Parliament.
The Assin South legislator said a survey conducted revealed that 93 per cent of Ghanaians support the passage of the anti-gay bill into law.
The bill was introduced as a Private Members’ Bill during the Eighth Parliament by a group of MPs led by Sam Nartey George and Ntim Fordjour.
The bill sparked intense debate, with many Ghanaians arguing that it would preserve Ghana’s cultural and moral identity, while opponents warned it would infringe on fundamental human rights of gay practitioners and could harm Ghana’s global image.
The bill was passed during the tenure of the Eighth Parliament, but former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo failed to assent it into law.
