Members of Parliament have unanimously approved and adopted the report of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs recommending the passage of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021.
According to the lawmakers, the passage of the Bill would protect the pristine Ghanaian cultural norms and values systems.
At the second reading yesterday of the Bill which was laid in Parliament on August 2, 2021, Chairman of the Committee and Member for Asante Akim Central, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, said though majority of Ghanaians were in favour of the passage of the Bill, there were significant human right concerns which are worthy of consideration.
The 25-clause private members’ Bill seeks to provide for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values, proscribe same sex relationships, propaganda of advocacy for or promotion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex (LGBTQI+) related activities, provide for protection of and support for children, persons who are victims or accused of same sex and related activities and other persons and related matters.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi said upon the presentation of the Bill, over 200 memoranda were received for and against the Bill by religious groups and rights groups with nine public hearings.
Based on those public hearing inputs, changes, including the change of title of the Bill to Promotion Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2021 were made, he told the House.
Concluding his presentation of the committee report, Mr Anyimadu-Antwi said the Catholic Bishops Conference in their engagement with the committee said “God loves the doer but hates the act” and said in as much as the Ghanaian society frowns on same sex relationships, efforts must be made to reform persons who are involved in the act.
Supporting the motion, Vice Chair of the Committee and MP for Akatsi South Bernard Ahiafor, said if the practice of same sex relationship was allowed, procreation would cease.
Stressing, that even plants and animals procreate between the male and female and postulated that same sex relationship cannot qualify to be a human right.
“We need to respect our cultural values,” he submitted and said in the course of their international engagements, he learnt that polygamy, which is unacceptable in Europe, is permitted here. He predicted that countries adopting same sex relationship would be extinct in 50 years stating that “same sex activities are injurious and do not represent our culture”.
Member for Asawase, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, on his part, described the practice as “madness” which must not be entertained in any form or shape.
To him, the attempts to force Africa into accepting same sex relationship must be rejected out.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
