Before the nation’s next election in December 2024, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has promised to give Ghanaians a law that forbids same-sex-related activities.
The Speaker noted that the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill before Parliament would be passed into law during his tenure.
Speaking at a media engagement, Rt. Hon Bagbin emphasized that “the sexual rights and human values Bill that is being handled by the committee will definitely be passed before the next elections. That Bill will go through.”
For the umpteenth time, the Speaker has pledged to see to the passage of the bill that was presented to the House in August 2021 by eight parliamentarians led by Ningo-Prampram MP, Sam George.
His previous comments sparked controversy and among those who found fault with the Speaker’s unwavering stance is Majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.
The Majority leader argued that it is out of place for the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, to have made a predetermination concerning the bill since he technically is not a parliamentarian and thus cannot make such a commitment on behalf of Parliament.
The proponents of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021 bill are seeking to criminalise the LGBTQ community in Ghana.
Should it be passed, people who identify as LGBTQ and/or engage in the said practice could face up to five years in prison.
LGBT activists could also face up to a 10-year-jail time.
Portions of the bill proposed that “a person who, by use of media, technological platform, technological account or any other means, produces, procures, markets, broadcasts, disseminates, publishes or distributes a material for purposes of promoting an activity prohibited under the Bill, or a person uses an electronic device, the Internet service, a film, or any other device capable of electronic storage or transmission to produce, procure, market, broadcast, disseminate, publishes or distribute a material for purposes of promoting an activity prohibited under the Bill, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than ten years.”
Following the presentation of the bill, the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee in Parliament held several public hearings after receiving over 124 memoranda from the public.
It has been over a year and Ghanaians cannot categorically state that the country’s laws explicitly ban homosexuality, although there are arguments that customs and traditions do not tolerate same-sex related activities.
One of the major issues that have arisen is the purported infringement of rights, as the bill seeks to deter citizens from sympathizing with the LGBTQ community.
A group, Concerned Citizens, has noted that the “dangerous bill” limits the democratic rights of Ghanaians.
As the country continues to deliberate on the matter, there are reports that an anti-LGBTQ bill will have financial implications for the country.
“If you criminalize it and a person is sentenced to prison, who’s going to feed the person, it affects the national purse,” Chairman of Parliament’s Constitutional,Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Kwame Anyimadu Antwi, told JoyNews.
Also, CDD-Ghana has noted that Ghana could lose up to 6% of its annual budget funding should the Anti-LGBT bill pass.
On the matter, Mr Sam Nartey George has argued that the economic consequences that Ghana may face as a result of passing the Anti-LGBT bill will be negligible.
According to him, the country has been faring well with very few grants from international organisations; thus in the event they are withdrawn, the country is well situated to weather the storm.
The Church of Pentecost is one of the many organisations which remain opposed to a country that encourages same-sex activities, be it gay pride or gay marriages.
Source: The Independent Ghana