The controversial Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, often called the \u201canti-LGBTQ+ bill\u201d, continues to stir heated debate in Ghana, with key parliamentary figures offering differing views on its status and next steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bill\u2019s Parliamentary Passage & Pending Presidential Assent<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The bill was passed by the Parliament of Ghana on 28 February 2024<\/strong>. However, despite its passage through Parliament, it has not yet become law<\/em> because it still requires presidential assent. Under Ghanaian procedure, a bill must be sent to the President for signature before it becomes law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The previous President, Nana Akufo\u2011Addo, delayed signing the bill, citing the need for a ruling from the Supreme Court of Ghana on its constitutionality and the potential financial implications for the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March 2025, a group of ten MPs re-introduced the bill as a private member\u2019s motion after the earlier version lapsed with the dissolution of Parliament ahead of elections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mahama Ayariga\u2019s Statement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mahama Ayariga, Majority Leader of Parliament, has stated that the bill still has the support of his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He was quoted as saying that the party\u2019s stance remains unchanged and that the matter \u201cjust needs to be signed\u201d because \u201cit has already been passed\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gaps & Clarification<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Ayariga\u2019s phrasing \u2014 that the bill \u201cjust needs to be signed\u201d \u2014 does not<\/strong> entirely align with the legal reality, which is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 The bill has passed Parliament<\/em>, but that alone does not make it law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Without presidential assent, the bill cannot take effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Because the earlier version lapsed and has been re-introduced, the process essentially must restart through committees and readings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, while Parliament has approved it in February 2024, further legislative and executive steps remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Domestic and International Reactions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Human rights organisations and international observers have criticised the bill, warning it could undermine rights protections in Ghana and potentially jeopardise international funding. For example, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have reportedly flagged the bill as a risk to Ghana\u2019s access to multilateral financing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the domestic front, supporters emphasise that the bill aligns with Ghana\u2019s traditional values and cultural norms, while opponents argue it violates human rights and fundamental freedoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s Next<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 The re-introduced bill will need to go through the full parliamentary process again (committee review, readings, passage).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 The President (now John Dramani Mahama, inaugurated January 2025) has indicated a preference for a government-sponsored version of the legislation rather than a private-member\u2019s bill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 The outcome of court challenges and potential international financial implications will remain important variables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 Until presidential assent is given and the bill is gazetted into law, the legislation remains proposed<\/em> and not yet operative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2e3b<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While the bill has been passed by Parliament<\/strong>, it has not yet been signed into law<\/strong>. The statement by Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga that it \u201cjust needs to be signed\u201d is partially correct<\/strong> in that presidential assent is required \u2014 but the legislative process is not fully complete given the re-introduction and procedural requirements. The final legal status remains subject to presidential action and ongoing legislative work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n www.nsemgh.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The controversial Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, often called the \u201canti-LGBTQ+ bill\u201d, continues to stir heated debate in Ghana, with key parliamentary figures offering differing views on its status and next steps. Bill\u2019s Parliamentary Passage & Pending Presidential Assent The bill was passed by the Parliament of Ghana on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":23178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[64,43,1],"tags":[4836,13052,11070,11043,7358,11941,6693,10507,11399,913,5455,9127,11858,9643,192,4521,2264,10840,10954,2183,1031,10342,2717,130,974,11743,11031,2402,281,67,1137,1198,11030,3805,11377,5807,1825,10415,36,2920],"class_list":["post-47067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-fitness","category-local-news","category-news","tag-access","tag-akufo","tag-anti-lgbtq-2","tag-anti-lgbtq","tag-bank","tag-bill","tag-congress","tag-court","tag-debate","tag-democratic","tag-family","tag-february","tag-flagged","tag-fund","tag-ghana","tag-ghanaian","tag-government","tag-human-rights","tag-international","tag-international-monetary-fund","tag-john-dramani-mahama","tag-law","tag-lgbtq","tag-mahama","tag-mahama-ayariga","tag-majority","tag-majority-leader","tag-mps","tag-ndc","tag-nsemgh","tag-nsemgh-com","tag-parliament","tag-parliament-of-ghana","tag-president","tag-presidential","tag-risk","tag-supreme-court","tag-work","tag-world","tag-world-bank"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47067"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47068,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47067\/revisions\/47068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}