Ghana’s situation requires Akufo-Addo to think twice on LGBT+ Bill – Frederick Oduro

Local Governance Expert, Dr. Frederick Oduro says no President in Ghana’s current economic situation will be careful in assenting to the LGBT+ Bill.

This comes on the back of the Office of the President writing to Parliament to halt any move to transmit the LGBTQ+ bill for assenting until the Supreme Court rules on the matter.

In a letter to Parliament and signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana Asante Bediatuo explained that the Human Sexual Rights and Family Value Bill has two court suits against therefore it will be improper for Parliament to transmit the bill to the Presidency.

“In the circumstance, you are kindly requested to cease and desist from transmitting the bill to the President until the matter before the Supreme Court is resolved,” Mr. Bediatuo stated.

Commenting on the development on Morning Starr with Francis Abban, the Local Governance Expert indicated that the bill has brought some level of attention to Ghana.

“Until this bill was presented to Parliament, Ghana was not considered anti-LGBTQ, but in as much as our laws do not permit its operation, we did not come out specifically to say we are going to put people in jail for practising it or promoting it.

“Now, we are in a financial situation that calls for support from these institutions and we also have this bill ahead of us. Every President who will find himself in this situation is bound to think twice before assenting to that kind of bill,” Dr. Oduro stated.

He said he has some challenges with the Constitutional provision of Private Member’s Bill adding that “as far as it carries some financial implication, the government is not bound to assent. So I believe we have found ourselves in a fix.”