Majority leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has revealed that, the final draft of the Anti-LGBTQ+ bill is yet to be submitted to the President for assent.
Addressing newsmen in Parliament on Monday March 4, 2024, the Member of Parliament for Effutu is therefore urging the public and various groups to stop counting the number of days the President has to assent the bill.
Since passing the bill on Wednesday February 28, various groups and individuals have been calling on the President to quickly assent the bill into law.
However, according to the Majority leader, the bill has had several amendments hence drafters of the bill need time to compile the final draft and then the Clerk will authenticate before the Speaker certifies it.
“As we speak, as the leader of the house, I can say on good authority that we have not completed the process. Nothing has moved to the Presidency. In fact the Speaker is yet to receive the authenticated bill”, he stressed.
Meanwhile, the bill has received various criticisms from the Western World.
Notable among them is the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.
He argued that Ghana’s passage of the new Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, also known as the anti-gay bill is disturbing and violates human rights.
The United States have also argued that the bill when passed into law will hinder Ghana’s economic development progress hence the bill should not be passed into law.
The bill seeks to impose a maximum five-year jail term unto persons who promote, sponsor or support the activities of LGBTQ+ while Individuals found guilty could be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 6 months to 3 years.
