Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, the chairman of Parliament's Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, said his committee was working hard on the LGBTQI+ Bill, adding that public hearings were completed and in-camera discussions will be completed shortly.
He explained that the in-camera meeting was held to allow certain notable individuals who have meaningful contributions to make to the Bill but do not want to be heard in public to do so.
As a result, he stated that the committee's delay was not due to the Minority caucus' perception, but rather to guarantee that their work was comprehensive and could withstand the test of time when it was ultimately voted into law.
"We want to make sure that the committee's report, which will be given to the House in plenary, will make it simpler for the House to enact the Bill into law," he explained.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi, who is also the MP for Ashanti Akyem Central, was replying directly to statements made in the plenary on Wednesday, June 8, by MP for Ho West, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, who claimed that the committee was not working on the bill in order to have it passed by Parliament.
Responding to the Chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, the minority Chief Whip and MP for Asawase, accused the Chairman of the Committee of purposefully prolonging the process of bringing their report on the Bill to the plenary since no genuine attempt had been made.
is being demonstrated by the committee in its work, which has caused it to take longer than the three months allowed by law to finish its task.
He went on to say that the minority would henceforth reject any Bill that came before Parliament for consideration until the committee on the LGBTQI+ Bill finished its work and submitted its report to Parliament.
Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Deputy Majority Leader and MP for Effutu, replied to Mr Muntaka's criticisms, claiming that the minority is merely being mischievous, political, and partisan since their proposal lacks objectivity and impartiality.
Mr. Afenyo Markin went on to say that if the committee was purposefully delaying its work, why was the minority accusing just the head of the committee?
However, Bernard Ahiafor, a minority member, is not among the leading members.
He went on to say that because the committee is made up of members from both parties, the chairman could not be singled out for responsibility.
The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021, is the name of the bill.
The Bill's goal is to protect human sexual rights, and Ghanaian Family Values prohibit LGBTQ+ and associated activities.