President Nana Akufo-Addo says despite the anxieties created among the international community following parliament’s passage of the anti-LGBTQ bill, he is waiting on the Supreme Court verdict as some individuals have initiated a suit against the bill.
Speaking to members of the Diplomatic Corps at Peduase to mark the new year, the President said that Ghana upholds principles of the rule of law and intends to allow the same to operate even in determining whether or not to assent the bill.
“I am aware that last week’s bi-partisan passage by Parliament of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, on a private member’s motion, has raised considerable anxieties in certain quarters of the diplomatic community and amongst some friends of Ghana that she may be turning her back on her, hitherto, enviable, longstanding record on human rights observance and attachment to the rule of law. I want to assure you that no such backsliding will be contemplated or occasioned.”
“I think it will serve little purpose to go, at this stage, into the details of the origin of this proposed law, which is yet to reach my desk. But suffice it to say that I have learned that, today, a challenge has been mounted at the Supreme Court by a concerned citizen to the constitutionality of the proposed legislation,” the President said.
“In the circumstances, it would be, as well, for all of us to hold our hands and await the decision of the Court before any action is taken. The operation of the institutions of the Ghanaian state will determine the future trajectory of the rule of law and human rights compliance in our country,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance advised the President to hasten slowly with the controversial bill as it could have dire immediate effects on Ghana’s finances, particularly under the IMF bailout programme.
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