The Member of Parliament of Assin South, John Ntim Fordjour has called on President John Dramani Mahama, urging him not to backtrack on his previous stance concerning the passage of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill.
Sharing his thoughts on X, on Friday, January 17, 2025, Ntim Fordjour reminded the president of his campaign promises and statements to the clergy and Ghanaians, which seemingly supported the controversial bill.
He expressed disappointment over what he perceives as a shift in the president’s approach since assuming office.
“Mr. President, don’t renege on your words to the clergy and Ghanaians in respect of LGBTQ matters. Don’t run away from the bill you so believed in when you were in opposition. The same President @JDMahamawho stated his desire to assent to the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill in opposition, is now backtracking and reneging on his words. Barely seven (7) days upon swearing in, President Mahama now thinks curriculum should eliminate the need for a bill that’s important to 73% of Ghanaians?
“We heard him loud and clear in Assin North by-election, we heard him loud and clear when he campaigned to the clergy on his position to assent to this bill without hesitation. Why is he so quickly distancing himself from the bill after getting what he wants? I believe the same clergy, traditional rulers and overwhelming majority of Ghanaians who hold their principled non-partisan position on this matter would speak loud and clear this time too,” he stated.
Ntim Fordjour also emphasised that the majority of Ghanaians, including the clergy and traditional rulers, maintain a principled position on the issue.
“Let’s remain consistent and principled on our stance and values regardless of who is in power. As for the bill, it will be served to President Mahama in the same shape and form – I can bet on that! Ghanaians earnestly wait to see if indeed President Mahama will remain true to his words or run away from the bill to seek cover in ‘curriculum’,” he noted.
The Private Members’ Bill which was passed by the 8th Parliament, became a significant point of contention during the tenure of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
With many speculating that it might receive assent from the former president, despite the controversy surrounding its criminalisation of homosexuality and its harsh provisions.
During a meeting with the clergy in October 2024, John Mahama gave his assurance to the clergymen, indicating that under his presidency, such practices will not be tolerated.
“My fathers and mothers in Christ, the current legal impasse created by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration on the Promotion of Proper Human Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Act, which was passed by Parliament, has set a dangerous precedence for our governance. The constitutional directive for action by the president is quite clear and need not have resulted in this stalemate.
“As I’ve publicly stated, I’m a proud member of the Assemblies of God Church and my faith does not support same-sex marriages or relationships (loud applause for over 20 seconds) nor does it support human-animal relationships, or does it allow people to change their gender as they wish. This is a fundamental belief that I hold and is grounded in my faith. I, therefore, assure you that the promotion of LGBTQ+ and all the pluses will have no place in our schools and communities under my administration,” he said.
However, addressing a delegation of Catholic bishops from the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference during a courtesy call on January 14, 2025, President Mahama suggested a government-sponsored LGBTQ+ bill, as opposed to one led by private members.
According to him, making the anti-LGBTQ+ bill a government-sponsored initiative would allow the country’s cultural values to be integrated into various curricula taught to students and would remove the need for a separate bill aimed at enforcing family values in the country.
“I think it should not be a Private Member’s Bill, but a government-sponsored one. If we were teaching our values in schools, we wouldn’t need to pass a bill to enforce our family values, 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.
“I don’t know what the promoters of the bill intend to do, but I think we should have a conversation on it again so that all of us, if we decide to move on the way forward, we move forward with a consensus,” he said.
The bill not only criminalises LGBTQ+ relationships, but also those who support LGBTQ rights.
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