Ghana: Press zooms in on lawmakers resolve to proscribe same sex relationship, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that parliamentarians are unanimously backing LGBTQ+ and have recommended the passage of 25-clause bill to proscribe same sex relationship is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian Times on Thursday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Parliamentarians have unanimously backed LGBTQ+ bill and recommended passage of 25-clause bill to proscribe same sex relationship, others
Members of Parlia¬ment have unanimously approved and adopted the report of the Committee on Con¬stitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs recommending the passage of the Promotion of Proper Hu¬man Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021.
According to the lawmakers, the passage of the Bill would protect the pristine Ghanaian cultural norms and values systems.
At the second reading yesterday of the Bill which was laid in Parlia¬ment on August 2, 2021, Chairman of the Committee and Member for Asante Akim Central, Kwame Any¬imadu-Antwi, said though majority of Ghanaians were in favour of the passage of the Bill, there were significant human right concerns which are worthy of consideration.
The 25-clause private members’ Bill seeks to provide for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values, proscribe same sex relationships, propaganda of advo¬cacy for or promotion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex (LGBTQI+) related activi¬ties, provide for protection of and support for children, persons who are victims or accused of same sex and related activities and other persons and related matters.
Mr Anyimadu-Antwi said upon the presentation of the Bill, over 200 memoranda were received for and against the Bill by religious groups and rights groups with nine public hearings.
Based on those public hear¬ing inputs, changes, including the change of title of the Bill to Promotion Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2021 were made, he told the House.
Concluding his presentation of the committee report, Mr Anyimadu-Antwi said the Cath¬olic Bishops Conference in their engagement with the committee said “God loves the doer but hates the act” and said in as much as the Ghanaian society frowns on same sex relationships, efforts must be made to reform persons who are involved in the act.
The newspaper says that Ghana is working to build 1,000 electric vehicle charging sta¬tions across the country within five years.
According to Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, the move formed part of the government’s plan to accelerate the country’s energy transition.
He said the installation of elec¬tric vehicle charging infrastructure in the country would put Ghana in a position to seamlessly shift from the use of petroleum fuelled vehicles to electric ones, as it was ongoing in many parts of the world.
He was speaking in Accra yesterday during a conference on Climate Finance for Sustainable Energy Transition in Africa.
Organised by the University of Ghana in partnership with the European University Institute and the European Commission, the event saw participants from var¬ious African countries including Nigeria and Kenya.
Dr Adam said Ghana could not be left behind in the development of electric vehicle charging infra¬structure since the cars produced currently were infused with electric energy technology.
“We cannot wait for the world to develop and integrate new technol¬ogies while we do nothing. This is the time to build the infrastructure that will help in the use of electric vehicles in Ghana. If we fail to prepare, we will have to resort to re-engineering of vehicles which usually leads to fatal consequenc¬es,” he stated.
The Ghanaian Times also reports that the United States Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, says Ghana and America need to stand up against corruption and deliver accountable and inclusive democracies that tru­ly serve the interest of their people.
She said corruption erodes competence in public institutions and deprives citizens of basic needs and a prosperous future, and when delivery of public services stalls, people lose faith in their govern­ments and extremists take advan­tage of the failures.
At the celebration of US’ 247th Independence day in Accra on Tuesday, she said “that’s why we work together to deliver on the promise of democracy, the solu­tions to these problems, to cor­ruption, to a lack of faith in public institutions.”
“So we need to stand up against corruption, work together to promote peace, tolerance, opportu­nity and inclusivity and champion human rights for all, no matter a person’s race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation,” she added.
The US Independence Day oth¬erwise called the 4th of July, marks the day that the second continental congress ratified the declaration of independence in 1776.
The event which was the first-post COVID-19 celebration in Ghana brought together high-pro¬file personalities, government offi¬cials, the diplomatic and business communities, and religious leaders for a night of few speeches, short parade, music, food, drinks and fireworks.
The dignitaries included the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin; the Chief Justice, Getrude Torkornoo; Former President John Mahama; Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare; the Dormaa¬hene, Oseadeeyo Agyamang Badu II and the UN Resident Coordina¬tor, Charles Abani.
Ms Palmer said the three bilateral programmes that made the past year amazing included the conclu¬sion of the $390 million Millennium Challenge compact, which built power infrastructure in Ghana.
She also mentioned Ghana’s hosting of Flintlock, a major mili¬tary exercise that involves 29 nation militaries, and hinted that the US would soon hand over two ships and multi-dollar equipment to the special boat squadron of the Ghana Navy to enhance maritime security.
She said the visit of US Vice President Harris to Ghana was a testament of the historic ties between the two countries and Gha¬na’s leadership in regional security, on the UN Security Council and her model for democratic governance globally.
The Graphic says that government’s indebtedness to various pension schemes as of the end of May this year stands at GH¢2.63 billion, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has told Parliament.
The amount breakdown was Tier One pensions of the Controller and Accountant General’s Department mechanised payroll of GH¢1.62 billion, Tier One of subvented institutions GH¢188.59 million, Tier Two of mechanised payroll GH¢808.21 million and Tier Two of subvented institutions GH¢6.18 million.
“Mr Speaker, the government paid GH¢2.67 billion to various pension schemes in 2022. Between January and the end of May 2023, the government had also paid GH¢2.26 billion,” he said.
The Finance Minister disclosed this in a statement read on his behalf by the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Dr Amin Adams, on the floor of Parliament last Tuesday.
He was responding to an urgent question by the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, who sought to know how much was owed the various pension schemes, including the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) by the Government of Ghana (GoG).
On the question of whether pension contributions were released on time and invested, Dr Adams stopped short of answering on the time the pension was released, saying that “I will get the answers and report back to the House”.
The minister also took a question from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu, who asked whether the Ghana Revenue Authority’s 24-month contract of about $18.24 million between McKinsey & Company Inc. Ghana, achieved the overarching aim of increasing tax revenue substantially over and above the baseline of 17 per cent year-on-year growth.
Responding, Mr Ofori-Atta said the overarching target of 17 per cent year-on-year growth was exceeded and the total revenue growth recorded was 28 per cent year-on-year.
He said revenue mobilisation remained a challenge for the government.
GIK/APA