"If we are teaching our values in school, we won't need to pass a bill [on LGBT] to enforce our family values. And that is where I think more than, even the family values bill is us agreeing on a curriculum that inculcates these values into our children as they are growing up, so that we don't need to legislate it. And so we will see how all these will go. I am looking forward to a review conference," President John Dramani Mahama has said.
Speaking when a delegation from the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference called on him in Accra, President Mahama highlighted the challenges faced by the initial bill, which was introduced as a private member’s bill, and emphasised the bill is now "dead" with the tenure of the previous government over.
Reflecting on the legislative hurdles of the previous bill, President Mahama explained that it failed to reach the president’s desk for assent due to legal and procedural issues.
“But as far as I know, the bill did not get to the president. And so, the convention is that all bills that are not ascended to before the expiration of the life of parliaments expire. And so that bill effectively is there, it has expired,” he stated.
President Mahama stressed the importance of a consensus-driven approach, calling for renewed discussions among stakeholders to determine the best path forward. He argued that a government-sponsored bill would provide a framework for broader consultation and agreement, unlike the private member’s bill.
“The Bill died with the Eighth Parliament, but I think we need to have a conversation on that. But I think it should not be a Private Member’s Bill, but a government-sponsored,” he said.
“If we were teaching our values in schools, we wouldn’t need to pass a bill to enforce our family values,” he explained. “And that is why I think more than even the family values bill, is us agreeing on a curriculum that inculcates these values into our children as they are growing up so that we don’t need to legislate it.”
The Bishops congratulated the President on his victory in the 2024 general election. During the meeting, Most Rev Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, Vice President of the Conference, urged the President to consider reintroducing the bill.
“We already know your position, but we are hopeful that you will sign it into law,” he declared.
President Mahama thanked the Catholic Church for its contributions to education and health and welcomed its input on the moral and educational development of the nation’s youth.
