Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has claimed that Africa is unafraid of the subliminal threats of Western aid and investment withdrawal.
Bagbin remarked that the continent’s efforts to defend its culture, morals, and social conventions, as well as to secure the future of its youth, had not been damaged by these threats or other severe economic restrictions.
According to a statement from the Public Affairs Directorate of Parliament, which was forwarded to the Ghana News Agency, the Speaker made the comments during a meeting in Westminster, London, with members of the British House of Lords and House of Commons.
The law passed recently in Uganda on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQI) phenomena and the measure on the promotion of human sexual rights and family values that is currently before Ghana’s parliament were cited as being of concern to the British members of parliament.
Threats should not be used. If your neighbor or partner is having an issue, you assist him in finding a solution. Engagement and understanding solve problems, not boycotts and threats, the Speaker added.
After reaching consensus on what constituted human rights, beliefs, and principles, he added, a group of individuals went ahead; “what was required was alignment and understanding of their context.”
Speaker Bagbin explained to his hosts that the function of Parliament was to receive bills from the executive or from members of civil society or interest groups, typically through the procedure that permits a private member’s bill.
Following that, Parliament moves the bill through the steps outlined in its Standing Orders and in accordance with the Ghanaian Constitution.
“Using our constitution as a compass, Parliament is working to legislate on the promotion of human sexual rights and family values in Ghana. There is nothing untoward; there is nothing wrong with these efforts,” he stated.
“Legislation in the domain of LGBTTQR is urgently needed in Ghana.” The numerous human rights clauses of the nation’s Constitution are known to the parliament.
“Parliament is aware that any legislation that violates the freedoms and rights protected by our constitution will be a subject of legal action in our court of law,” he continued.
The Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament stated that it had the authority and capacity to pass legislation on the matter and would not tolerate any intervention from the Executive in response to a query about the role of the President in the relevant law.
Bagbin clarified that while the President’s responsibility was to provide his or her consent to laws tabled by Parliament, the legislature, not the Executive, had the last say in matters of law.
Bagbin said, “The rule of law, not the rule of man, is the foundation of Ghana’s democracy.”
Speaker Bagbin added that Ghana’s Constitution placed a strong emphasis on promoting and defending a number of essential freedoms and rights for people and assured that the Bill did not aim to restrict human rights but rather to uphold values and rights.
“The same goes for Ghanaians’ health and welfare, especially those whose sexual orientation has an impact on their well-being.”
Bagbin said that the Promotion of Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill had been the result of extensive consultations by the Legislature.
For a greater understanding of the issues at risk, members of the Select Committee working on them undertook consultations in the UK, the US, the EU, and Canada, among other places.
The Committee received and reviewed nearly 400 memoranda on the subject, according to the Speaker, and various advocacy organizations, trade associations, religious and traditional leaders, and civil society organizations were given a chance to speak.
“Think global and act local,” he stated, had been the strategy used to approach this bill.
Speaker Bagbin was joined at the meeting by Mr. Magnus Kofi Amoatey, the Speaker’s legal counsel; Mr. Cyril Kwabena Oteng Nsiah, the Clerk to Parliament; Mr. Ebenezer Djietror, the Assistant Clerk; and Mr.
The other two were Mr. Charles Dery Tenzagh, the Deputy Director of Parliamentary Relations, and Mr. Gayheart Mensah, the Director of the Speaker’s Communication Team.
