The Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference has urged President John Dramani Mahama's government to expedite the reintroduction and passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly referred to as the anti-LGBTQ bill.

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During a meeting on Tuesday, January 14, President Mahama proposed that a government-sponsored bill would be more effective than the current Private Member’s Bill, as it would ensure broader consultation and stronger national consensus.The President further highlighted the need to revise school curriculums to include moral and cultural teachings aimed at reinforcing Ghanaian and African values among children.

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Most Reverend Matthew Gyamfi, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, stressed the importance of passing the bill without delay.“What we want is that it is made into a law. That does not mean that it cannot be taught in the schools if it is made into a law. Many of our laws are taught in schools through civic education and other things.

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“So the fact that it should be taught does not rule out the fact that it should be made into a law. Ghanaians are overwhelmingly in favour of it, so we don’t want the use of any technical words to demean what Ghanaians want.”President Mahama clarified the bill's current status, stating, “As far as I know, the bill did not get to the President for assent.

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And so the convention is that all bills that are not assented to before the expiration of the life of Parliament expired, and so that Bill is effectively dead, it has expired.”He emphasized the importance of consensus in the bill's reintroduction, suggesting a collaborative approach. “I do think that we should have a conversation on it again, so that all of us, if we decide to move that bill forward, [we do so] with a consensus.

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”The former president also proposed that the bill be reintroduced with formal government backing after thorough stakeholder consultations.“I don't know what the promoters of the bill want to do, but we should have a conversation about it again… probably it shouldn't be a private members bill. It should be a government bill with government behind it after consultation with all the stakeholders to see how to move this forward,” he stated.

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