The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill may have to wait for sometime to receive the much-expected presidential assent.
Even though the bill is yet to be forwarded to the President for him to determine whether or not to append his signature, it has suffered a major setback.
This follows the filing of a suit at the country’s Supreme Court seeking to set it aside.
Speaking at the annual New Year diplomatic greetings at the Peduase Presidential Lodge in Accra yesterday evening, President Nana Akufo-Addo said he was aware of the considerable anxiety the passage of the bill has created in certain quarters of the diplomatic community and amongst some friends of Ghana who have appreciated the enviable, longstanding record on human rights observance and the prevailing rule of law in the country.
But the President said, “I want to assure you that no such backsliding will be contemplated or occasioned,” insisting that “I think it will serve little purpose to go, at this stage, into the details of the origin of this proposed law, which is yet to reach my desk.”
In the circumstances, he advised that “it would be, as well, for all of us to hold our hands, and await the decision of the court before any action is taken.”
He, however, insisted that “the operation of the institutions of the Ghanaian state will determine the future trajectory of the rule of law and human rights compliance in our country.”
As the December election approaches, he stressed his government’s commitment to its obligation and duty to ensure that the impending elections are conducted “in an atmosphere of peace and security, in full transparency and respect for the electoral laws of our country.”
He was confident that “the security agencies will be alive to their responsibilities, and will ensure that the free will of the Ghanaian people, in their choice of national leadership, will be manifest.”
That, he said, was because “we cherish our reputation as a beacon of democracy on the African continent, and the forthcoming elections will reinforce this reputation.”
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent