The Chairman of Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, Mr Shaibu Mahama, has said the failure of the previous Akufo-Addo administration to assent to the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill has ultimately created an opportunity for further refinement of the legislation.
He described the situation as a “blessing in disguise,” explaining that it has allowed the Ninth Parliament to revisit the Bill and address gaps that emerged during earlier deliberations.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement on the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025 in Accra on Thursday, April 23, Mr Mahama, who is also the Member of Parliament for Daboya-Mankarigu, noted that the delay had enabled lawmakers to reassess the content more critically.
He stated that Parliament now has the space to “incorporate, delete, amend, or reshape” provisions where necessary to ensure the Bill is more comprehensive and fit for purpose.
However, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Committee, Mr Alhassan Suleman, took a different view, urging lawmakers to pass the Bill without further alterations. He argued that the version approved by the Eighth Parliament already reflected the will of many Ghanaians and required only minimal adjustments.
“As far as I’m concerned, we don’t have to do much. Ghanaians have accepted this bill as fit for purpose, and we should not tinker with it,” he said.
The principal sponsor of the Bill, Mr Samuel Nartey George, also weighed in, urging Parliament to expedite consideration of the legislation. He dismissed concerns that similar laws elsewhere in Africa had harmed economies, insisting that such fears were unfounded.
He further called on the Committee to fast-track its work so the Bill could be passed and subsequently presented to President John Mahama for assent.
