Pulse logo
Pulse Region

NPP against LGBTQ+ in Ghana — Stephen Ntim

Ste­phen Ayesu Ntim, the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said the party opposes the activities of <a href="https://www.pulse.com.gh/news/local/lgbtg-bill-all-you-need-to-know-about-ghanas-controversial-bill/xz8k9cn">Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer</a> (LGBTQ), in the country.
Stephen Ntim
Stephen Ntim

He em­phasised the NPP's commitment to promoting Ghana's long-standing values and traditions.

According to him, the NPP was dedicated to addressing issues affecting Ghanaians across the country adding that the LGBTQ+ agenda was not among their priori­ties.

Addressing the party's thanksgiving service to commemorate the one year in office of its National Executives, Stephen Ntim said the NPP is opposed to any system­atic attempt to normalize LGBTQ+ and related conduct acts in Ghana because it is not part of the legacy. As a center-right party, the NPP stands firmly against any erosion of the values that have shaped Ghanaian society for genera­tions.

He stated that our society has its core values and prin­ciples that make us who we are, and we must embrace them with pride. Let us be vigilant against any forces that seek to undermine our heritage.

The anti-LGBTQ bill, titled, "The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021", was submitted to Parliament in June 2021.

The bill, among others, seeks to make it a crime to be LGBTQ+, or to advocate LGBTQ+ rights. Offenders could face jail terms.

However, the submission of the bill to Parliament elicited a major public debate over its appropriateness.

Many religious organisations and like-minded institutions and individuals have expressed their full support for the bill to be passed into law while some civil society organisations (CSOs) and other campaigners had opposed it with the explanation that it would infringe on the human rights of LGBTQ+ people in the country, and subject them to persecution and violence.

On Thursday, June 29, 2023, Parliament sat in anticipation of a second reading of the anti-LGBTQI Bill in vain, after the bill also failed to appear on the order paper on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.

Earlier the Speaker of Parliament, in a statement read on his behalf by the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, directed the Business Committee to programme the Bill on the order paper to make way for the second reading that never was.

Subscribe to receive daily news updates.

Next Article