Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto Jewu Soale, Overlord of Gonja Traditional Area, has expressed his support for the Proper Human Values Bill being considered by Parliament to deal with LGBTQI+ practices in the country.
He, therefore, urged Parliament to be guided by the country’s cultural values in considering the Bill and said it was an abomination and alien to the country’s cultural practices and norms for a man to marry a man and a woman to marry a woman.
He stated this when Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, paid courtesy call on him at his palace at Damongo in the Savannah Region.
The visit by the Speaker formed part of Parliament’s engagement with various stakeholders as part of activities to commemorate the 30 years of uninterrupted parliamentary democracy in the country.
Yagbonwura Jewu Soale also appealed to Parliament to pass a law to control the activities of communal hunting to help preserve the country’s wildlife.
He said communal hunting within the Gonja Traditional Area was worrying, adding it affected the fragile ecological landscape of the area.
He said, “One worrying situation confronting the region is communal hunting where people from different regions come to hunt. I recommend that Parliament pass laws to control the activities of communal hunting to help preserve the wildlife.”
Mr Bagbin said, “Parliament acknowledges the crucial role traditional authorities play towards consolidating our democracy, especially at the grassroots level.”
He said although he did not vote in Parliament, he was optimistic that Members of Parliament would be guided by the views of their constituents regarding the passage of the Bill.
He commended the people of the Savannah Region for their tolerance and love for peace and admonished them to continue in that direction to attract investors into the area.
