Anti-LGBTQ+ bill should be govt-sponsored, not a private member’s bill – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has proposed a potential new approach to the contentious Anti-LGBTQ+ bill, suggesting it should be introduced as a government-sponsored bill rather than a private member’s bill.

During an engagement with the Catholic Bishops Conference in Accra on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, President Mahama emphasized that government sponsorship would lend the bill greater legitimacy and enhance its chances of successful passage.

He explained that presenting the bill as a government initiative would demonstrate broader institutional backing and reflect a more unified stance on the matter.

The Anti-LGBTQ+ bill has been a polarizing topic in Ghana, drawing both support and criticism domestically and internationally. The suggestion for government sponsorship signals a shift in strategy that could potentially influence how the bill is debated and perceived.

“I don’t know what the promoters of the bill intend to do, but 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, move it forward with a consensus and probably it shouldn’t be a private member’s bill.

“It probably should be a government bill with governments behind it after consultation with all the stakeholders to see how we’re able to move this forward,” he stated.

But the president further indicated the need for the country’s values to be taught in schools.

“It leads us back to the discussion we had that if we’re teaching our values in school, we won’t need to pass a bill to enforce our family values and that’s why I think more than even the family values bill, it’s us agreeing on a curriculum that inculcates these values into our children as they are growing up, so that we don’t need to legislate it and so we’ll see how all this goes. So I’m looking forward to this review conference to come to some consensus on some of these issues.”