President John Dramani Mahama has suggested a possible new approach to the controversial LGBTQ+ bill, saying it should be a government-sponsored bill rather than a private member’s bill.
He has said that if the proponents of the bill choose to push it forward after it was not assented to by the former President there may be renewed discussions.
Speaking during an engagement with the Catholic Bishops Conference Monday, January 13, 2025, Mahama indicated that for the bill to have broader legitimacy and a higher chance of success, it should ideally come with government backing.
“There was a court case that injuncted the Speaker from forwarding the bill to the President and also restrained the President from receiving the bill. Eventually that case was disposed off in December.
“But as far as I know, the bill did not get to the President for assent and so the convention is that all bills that have not been assented to before the expiration of the life of Parliament expire and so that bill effectively, has expired.
“I 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 if we decide to move that bill forward, we move it forward with a consensus and probably it shouldn’t be a private member’s bill, it should be a government bill with government behind it after consultation with all the stakeholders to see how we should move it forward,” he noted.
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