Speaking to the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Accra, President Mahama stressed the importance of a values-based education system. He emphasized teaching family values in schools rather than relying solely on legislation.
He also highlighted the importance of designing a curriculum to instill values in children as they grow.
“If we are teaching our values in school, we won’t need to pass a bill [on LGBT] to enforce our family values. And that is where I think more than, even the family values bill is [on] 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 will see how all these will go. I am looking forward to a review conference,” President John Mahama stated.
He noted that the previous anti-LGBTQ+ bill, introduced as a private member’s bill, failed to progress due to procedural issues. He further called for a government-sponsored bill to encourage broader consultation and ensure a consensus-driven approach.
“The bill did not reach the president and expired with the 8th Parliament,” Mahama explained He also stated that, that particular bill is now “dead” with the tenure of the previous government over.
“as far as I know, the bill did not get to the president. And so, the convention is that all bills that are not assented to before the expiration of the life of parliaments expire. And so that bill effectively is dead, it has expired,” he stated.
Will President Mahama Sign the Bill?
During the 2024 presidential election campaign, John Dramani Mahama said his decision to assent to the controversial anti-LGBTQI bill, formally titled the “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill,” would depend on a thorough review of its contents.
“It is not an anti-LGBTQI Bill; it is a Family Values Bill. It was approved unanimously by our Parliament. [LGBTQI] is against our African culture, it is against our religious faith, but I think we must look at the Bill, and the president must indicate what he finds wrong with that bill and send it back to Parliament or alternatively he must send it to the Council of State and get the Council of State’s advice.”
When asked directly if he would sign the bill into law if he were elected president, Mahama said: “It depends on what is in the Bill.” He explained that if he had been president when the bill was passed by Parliament, he would have sought a detailed examination of its provisions and consulted with relevant advisory bodies.
The Bishops congratulated President on his victory in the 2024 general election. During the meeting, Most Rev Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, Vice President of the Conference, urged the President to consider signing the bill.
“We already know your position, but we are hopeful that you will sign it into law,” he declared.
President Mahama thanked the Catholic Church for its contributions to education and health and welcomed its input on the moral and educational development of the nation’s youth.
