President Mahama met with a delegation from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference earlier today to discuss issues heckling the passage of the anti-lgbt bill.
The bill, which was proposed by parliament during former President Akuffo-Addo’s administration faced several challenges, including legal actions invoked by individuals and human rights avenues. There have been debates on the content of the bill, with legal practicitioners arguing on its harshness on queer people.
In the face of these challenges amongst others, former President Akuffo-Addo did not assent to the bill till he left office.
Meanwhile, during his campaign ahead of the 2024 general election, President Mahama said he would sign the bill, however, depending on its content.
However, during his meeting with the delegation earlier today, the president seems to have proposed a different approach in addressing debates about same-sex marriages amongst other lgbt activities.
Speaking on the matter, he explained that arming the education sector with contents on the country’s traditional family values could be a better approach than passing the bill.
“If we are teaching our values in school, we won’t need to pass a bill [on LGBT] to enforce our family values. And that is where I think more than, even the family values bill is [on] us agreeing on a curriculum that inculcates these values into our children as they are growing up so that we don’t need to legislate it. And so we will see how all these will go. I am looking forward to a review conference,” he said.
Moreover, he referred to the bill as “dead” considering the parliamentary regime during which such a proposal was made has passed, explaining that it could not be passed under the previous administration due to legal and procedural challenges.
“But as far as I know, the bill did not get to the president. And so, the convention is that all bills that are not ascended to before the expiration of the life of parliaments expire. And so that bill effectively is dead, it has expired,”
According to him, a better approach would be to make it become a government sponsored bill rather than a private members bill, an approach which would broaden the scope of consultation to pave way for a successful passage. He stressed that the country would not need to pass such a bill if it taught its family values in schools.
“The Bill died with the 8th Parliament, but I think we need to have a conversation on that. But I think it should not be a Private Member’s Bill, but a government-sponsored one,”
“If we were teaching our values in schools, we wouldn’t need to pass a bill to enforce our family values,” he explained. “And that is why I think more than even the family values bill, is us agreeing on a curriculum that inculcates these values into our children as they are growing up so that we don’t need to legislate it.”
Meanwhile, the delegation has urged the President to consider reintroducing the bill, although they already know his position on it.
“We already know your position, but we are hopeful that you will sign it into law,” said the Most Rev Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, Vice President of the Conference.
Should it have to be passed, the bill will have to undergo a new process due to the fact that the 8th parliament during which it was passed, has expired.
His administration will be working with the 9th parliament.
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