Parliament resumes today, anti-gay bill prominent among 56 bills to consider
The eighth Parliament of the fourth republic is scheduled to resume today October 26, 2021, to start the third meeting for the first session of Parliament.
According to a statement from the legislature “The meeting is expected to last nine weeks after which the House will go to recess in December. The House is scheduled to work on bills and papers at their various stages.”
Currently, a total of 56 bills are expected to be presented before the House.
Some of the bills include the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values 2021, the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill 2021 and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (Amendment) Bill 2021.
Sam George-led Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill is likely to shape proceedings in the house during the entire sitting.
The Private Member’s bill which was laid on August 3, 2021, seeks to criminalize the activities of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI), as well as individuals and organizations that advocate or promote such activities in the country.
So far, both parties on each side of Parliament have publicly thrown their weight behind the passage of the bill but agreed on the need for some amendments to be made in the bill to fine-tune it ahead of its passage.
Meanwhile, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said he believes that in principle no MP is against the anti-gay bill which is before the house.
Majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu at a press briefing on this issue in Accra on Tuesday, October 12 said: “In principle, I am not sure any Member of Parliament will be against the principle of this bill. I am an African, I am a Ghanaian, an Ashanti, Kwabre man and I have my own values.”
“I have my own upbringing, one that is shaped by my tradition and upbringing. As I have said along the line, I am Christian, I was born into Assemblies of God church so my faith also impacts on my upbringing. But that is not the only thing that shapes my upbringing”
“That is why I am saying, and I refer to the first provision in Chapter 11 of the Constitution which is Article 125 when it says that justice emanates from the people. We have our concept of what is right and what is wrong, I don’t know of any ethnic group of this country that will applaud this.”
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
