The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference president, Matthew K. Gyamfi, has cautioned that President John Mahama risks repeating the path of former President Nana Akufo-Addo in handling the controversial LGBTQ bill.
Speaking on PM Express on Joy News on Tuesday, the Catholic Bishop said recent comments from the presidency have raised concerns about consistency and commitment to the bill.
The warning follows remarks from the presidency that the LGBTQ issue is not currently a priority for government, despite earlier assurances that the President would assent to the bill if passed by Parliament.
Bishop Gyamfi said Ghana has witnessed a similar situation before.
“We have seen this before….the former president,….Nana Akufo-Addo has said openly that he will sign this bill. At the same time, he made contradictory statements on different occasions, probably favouring the LGBTQ group, telling them they also have certain rights, etc.”
He noted that despite those assurances, the bill was never signed.
“And you see that finally, when he got to his desk. We don’t know whether it’s technicalities or he just didn’t want to sign, but we realised that he did not sign.”
He warned against a repeat of that outcome.
“That we do not want a repetition of that. When the President has said our I will sign and now he says it’s not a priority, so we should be very careful that we do not have a repeat of what has happened.”
Bishop Gyamfi also expressed concern about the potential influence of the President’s comments on Parliament.
“Let me also state that right now, we are very concerned about what the President’s statements may have on parliament. Influence parliament, our president says it’s not a priority, even though the president, from what we know, does not have that much control over Parliament.”
He stressed that presidential remarks carry weight across all sectors.
“But we should not overlook the fact that when the president of the nation makes a statement, it has an effect and influence on all sectors of the Ghanaian community, including parliament, which is discussing this law.”
He questioned whether Parliament could slow the bill’s consideration. “Will it slow Parliament down? Will Parliament push it aside? You should not say that these are impossible.”
Despite the concerns, he urged lawmakers to proceed with their work. “But we pray that Parliament goes ahead put the bill on the President’s desk for the President to sign.”
He added that while Parliament’s processes must be respected, expectations remain high. “Parliament must go ahead with its work, its promise that the speaker has made, and send the bill to the President’s desk.”
Bishop Gyamfi emphasised that the Church is not seeking to pressure Parliament but is hopeful the process will be completed within the current legislative term.
“We cannot hurry up the President and Parliament’s processes, we cannot push them… and we are expecting that by the end of this Parliament, the bill will have been placed far ahead of time on the president’s desk for him to sign.”
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