The Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Stephen Asamoah-Boateng has described the practice of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) as a danger to society, hence government will never legalise it.
According to him, the act, which has its roots in western countries, was alien to the customs, traditions and values that make up the country.
To this end, he has called on Ghanaians, mostly supporters of the practice, to refocus their efforts towards supporting government in tackling the many socioeconomic challenges that confront the country.
Responding to a question on his views on the current debate about LGBTQ during an interview with the Ghanaian Times in Accra on Wednesday, he explained that the government was not interested in making LGBTQ the most topical issue in the country when it was preoccupied with improving the lives of Ghanaians.
Mr Asamoah-Boateng, therefore, urged traditional authorities, religious and other faith-based organisations to intensify their condemnation and abhorrence of the practice so that no future government will consider its legalisation.
“I am against this practice which I’ve refused to name. It is against the traditions, customs and religious beliefs that make up our country. I can assure the people of Ghana that government has no intention of legalising it.
“President Nana Akufo-Addo has made it clear that this practice will not be legalised as long as he remains President of our dear country. We should speak out against it and redirect our energies to building our country,” he stated.
Among the challenges the country face currently, he said, was the threat of state capture by persons involved in LGBTQ, who would dictate the country’s development path and undermine the very traditions and values that make up Ghana.
“There is the real threat of these persons taking over our institutions and structures to have the power to impose these practices on us. We should not wait for them to control our institutions. Let’s all resist this imposition and promote our culture and traditions that make us unique,” Mr Asamoah-Boateng added.
He said the attempts to introduce LGBTQ into the country by some western countries was rather an infringement on the human rights of the majority of Ghanaians, who have on numerous platforms voiced out their abhorrence for the practice.
“This rather is an attack on our human rights as a people who abhor this practice. Anyone who doubts that Ghanaians are against LGBTQ should conduct a census and check the results for themselves. We cherish our traditions and customs and it is our duty to uphold it. So we won’t allow any imposition on us,” the Minister stated.
On dealing with obscene religious contents on national television, he said the Ministry had drafted a policy on the practice of religion, which would soon undergo extensive consultation to ensure all stakeholders have an input in the final document.
When developed, the policy, Mr Asamoah-Boateng, said would provide guidelines in the practice of faith and promote sanity in faith practice.
He explained that the policy would ensure that believers exercise their faith within a reasonable limit so that they do not violate the rights of others and promote negative practices in the name of religion.
The Ministry, he said, would engage the National Communication Authority (NCA) on the issuance of broadcasting licences to churches and individuals to ensure that their contents are in harmony with the guidelines provided in the policy.
He noted that within the last18 months, the Ministry had prioritised the reduction of chieftaincy cases to about 10 per cent of national security concerns.
Mr Asamoah-Boateng appealed to Ghanaians to support the Ministry in its quest to improve religious and ethnic harmony in the country, which had ensured peace and stability in most areas.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
