The Executive Director of the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, has added his voice to calls against the passage of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021 into law.
According to the private legal practitioner, the bill poses a lot of threat to Ghana’s fledgling democracy, with a possibility of promoting a culture of hate and discrimination in the country.
Making his submissions at Parliament’s public hearing on the bill, Prof. Prempeh intimated that, as far as he’s concerned, the bill is devoid of any connection with the values of the Ghanaian people, as the proponents posit.
“But more importantly, contrary to the claims that are made by the proponents of the bill, there’s nothing homegrown about this bill. Nothing homegrown or original about this bill at all,” he stressed.
For him, Ghana is not an island that exists in isolation and as such the country should not pass laws that do not reflect the aspirations of the world in which Ghana thrives.
Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh and other prominent academics are therefore clamoring against the passage of the bill into law. In their opinion, the LGBTQ+ community also have rights and freedoms which should not be trampled upon, under the guise of cultural values.
Meanwhile, tons of Ghanaians, including the Pentecost Church of Ghana, the Methodist Church and other traditional orthodox churches have all expressed solidarity with the bill, and have publicly advocated for its passage.
The ongoing public hearing by Parliament which begun on Thursday, is part of efforts by the Legislature to rake in varied opinions to shape discussions about the passage of the bill.
The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill aims at criminalising the practice of LGBTQ and all of its related forms in Ghana.