Minority to impede passage of government bills over delays in LGBTQI Bill passage

The Minority Caucus in Parliament on Wednesday served notice that it will impede the passage of government bills if the LGBTQI Bill was not worked on with dispatch.

Mr Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, the Chairman of the committee working on the bill, has been accused of deliberately slowing down work on it with no clear sign of progress, more than a year after its introduction.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Mr Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, the Minority Chief Whip, emphasised the need for the bill to be dealt with speedily.

“Mr Speaker, as far as the Constitution is concerned, when you introduce a bill, and it is referred to the committee, that committee must not spend more than three months,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Anyimadu-Antwi has explained why work had been delayed.

“Mr Speaker, I would want to draw the House’s attention to the fact that there are several bills before the committee. We had one in-camera meeting last week, and we have invited the sponsors of this bill for these meetings,” he said.

He said Mr Emmanual Bedzrah was at those meetings so he should have informed the Minority about the progress being made by the committee.

“I want to set the records straight that the committee is on course so far as bills are concerned,” Mr Anyimadu-Antwi said.

The Bill on the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values was presented to Speaker Alban Bagbin on Tuesday, June 29, 2021.

It prescribes that people of the same sex who engage in sexual activity could spend up to 10 years in jail.

Varying forms of support for the LGBTQ+ community would also be criminalised if it is passed into law.

The Members of Parliament who presented the bill are Mr Sam George, Ningo- Prampam; Emmanuel Bedzrah, Ho West; Mrs Clinton Della Adjoa Sowah, Kpando; Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, Assin South; Mr Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini, Tamale North; Madam Helen Adjoa Ntoso Krachi West; Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, La Dadekotopon and Mr Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, South Dayi.

Source: GNA