Accra: Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has announced that Ghana's Parliament is on the verge of passing the reintroduced anti-LGBTQ bill. The legislation is set to be debated this week, with a potential passage within days.
According to Ghana Web, the South Dayi MP shared on PM Express that the parliamentary committee has finalized its work on the proposed legislation and is ready to present its findings to the Parliament. Dafeamekpor mentioned that the committee report will be submitted on Thursday. He highlighted that Parliament aims to accelerate the legislative process once the report is officially presented.
Dafeamekpor explained the procedural steps: "When it's laid, we can take the report, debate it, that's as part of the principles for second reading, and adopt it. Once it's adopted, we move into consideration. Consideration, we can even decide to do consideration on Friday, and pass."
He emphasized that the bill under consideration is not entirely new, as Parliament had previously approved a similar version. He pointed out that the Ghanaian family values bill had already been passed, but former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo chose not to sign it into law, leaving the terms of the bill largely unchanged from Parliament's earlier approval.
Dafeamekpor expressed that lawmakers are looking to expedite the legislative process without lengthy debates, as the issues have been addressed in the past. He asserted that the bill could be passed within weeks, not months, once the second reading is conducted on Thursday or Friday.
The Majority Chief Whip defended the expedited process, noting that Parliament members are familiar with the bill's contents and should not be criticized for utilizing urgency procedures. He also addressed concerns from opposition parties, stating, "But when we do consideration expeditiously, let the NPP not shout that we are abusing the certificate of urgency. It will be rapidly done, because we cannot be reenacting what we have already read."
The reintroduced bill, officially named the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, aims to ban LGBTQ activities, advocacy, funding, and promotion of non-traditional sexual orientations and gender identities in Ghana. Initially introduced by bipartisan lawmakers in 2021, the bill has sparked significant debate both nationally and internationally, with arguments surrounding cultural values and human rights implications. Despite the original bill's passage in 2024, it was not enacted due to former President Akufo-Addo's decision to withhold assent pending Supreme Court challenges.