The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, has not stalled, and it has not been shelved. That is the message from the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, who used Monday’s Government Accountability Series to offer the clearest public update yet on where the controversial legislation stands.
According to the Minister, the bill is currently before Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Committee, which is scheduled to meet on Thursday, April 23, to continue deliberations on it.
Minister Ibrahim was emphatic on one point that has been at the centre of the public debate: this is not an executive bill. It is a private members’ initiative, introduced and driven by legislators, not the Presidency.
He offered a candid account of how the bill was passed in Parliament, revealing that the process was not without its complications. “When it was time for the LGBTQ+ Bill to be passed, we were made up of four NDC MPs and four NPP MPs. But when we got to the venue, three of the NPP MPs ran away, leaving only one. So, we had to bring in an additional three NDC MPs to join us before the bill was passed,” he disclosed.
The revelation underscores the cross-party nature of the bill’s passage, and, in the Minister’s view, strips away any basis for partisan point-scoring over it.
“So, if a political party is saying that today they will take a political opportunity, that opportunity is gone,” he said pointedly.
With some clergy groups reportedly planning demonstrations over what they perceive as delays in the bill receiving presidential assent, Ibrahim moved to redirect the frustration away from President John Dramani Mahama.
“Let nobody bring the President in. It was we who introduced the bill,” he said firmly, adding that the President’s public remarks on the matter had been carefully considered and deserved to be heard in full context.
“If you listen to his speech carefully, you will appreciate him for that,” the Minister said.
Ibrahim made clear that he has been personally engaged at the highest levels to shepherd the bill through the process, meeting with the President, the Speaker of Parliament, and religious leaders who have raised concerns.
“Pastors also come to me on the matter, and with that, I also know where we are,” he said, striking a tone of quiet confidence. “When you are in the field, you act, and not talk.”
With the Constitutional and Legal Committee set to convene on April 23, the bill enters what could be a decisive phase of its legislative journey. Minister Ibrahim says he knows “every stage and every process”, a statement that suggests the bill’s path forward, while not without obstacles, is being actively managed.
For the clergy groups, advocacy organisations, and members of the public watching closely on all sides of the debate, Thursday’s committee meeting will be the next significant moment to watch.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com