The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values law sponsor and Member of Parliament for Assin South, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has accused the John Mahama-led government of purposefully obstructing the reintroduction of the hotly contested LGBTQ+ law in Parliament.
Fordjour voiced his displeasure on Friday during the presentation of the Business Statement for the sixth week of the third meeting of the Ninth Parliament. He claimed that despite a clear directive from the Speaker of Parliament, there had been deliberate attempts to stall the bill and a noticeable silence.
He states that the bill was inexplicably removed from the Order Paper during the fifth week, citing “disputed reasons.”
He pointed out that Speaker Alban Bagbin then declared unequivocally that nothing stopped the bill from being presented to the House once more.
Fordjour bemoaned, “It is five weeks since the Speaker gave that ruling, and yet no attempt has been made for the bill to be reintroduced.”
He insisted that the Bill’s omission from the Order Paper is a betrayal of popular expectations and accused the government of planning the delay.
“The attempt by this government to block this bill is a big disappointment to the people of this country, to the over 93% of Ghanaians who believe marriage is between a man and a woman,” he said.
Fordjour contended that the bill should be promptly returned to the Order Paper for its initial reading and recommendation since it had already fulfilled all procedural criteria.
He cautioned that the Ninth Parliament must avoid giving the impression that the Eighth Parliament’s national priorities had been dropped.
“We must not give the impression that this House has jettisoned what 275 Members of Parliament considered a priority. The controversy was resolved. The Speaker ruled. The bill must be laid,” he said.
Although senior government officials have lately reaffirmed that President John Dramani Mahama is still committed to signing the bill after it has finished the necessary parliamentary procedures, the Mahama administration has yet to formally address Fordjour’s allegations.
As stakeholders await the next steps in Parliament, the heightened tensions underscore the profound political and ideological divisions surrounding the LGBTQ+ topic in Ghana.
However, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga emphasized that the NDC majority is still completely committed to passing the bill, rejecting the accusations that the government is obstructing it.
He reminded the House that he had previously suggested treating the Bill as having already been approved by the 8th Parliament, meaning that the only thing left to do would have been to get presidential approval.
“If you had supported my position, by now it would have been in the hands of the Presidency. But since you rejected it, we must take it through all stages again,” he said.
Fordjour’s prior involvement in the bill’s processing was also questioned by Ayariga, who claimed he didn’t see much of it when the committee he chaired was working on it.
He noted that the Assin South MP was not present when the then-Minority forced President Akufo-Addo to sign.
He marveled, “Yet now you claim urgency.”
“There is no attempt by this government to delay it,” he informed Parliament, adding that the Speaker has previously stated that the Bill is being processed and will shortly return to the House. It is going through the mill, according to the Speaker.
Source: newsthemegh.com