President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Matthew K. Gyamfi, has rejected suggestions that the controversial LGBTQ bill should be sidelined in favour of economic and social priorities.

Speaking on PM Express on Joy News Tuesday, Bishop Gyamfi insisted that addressing economic challenges and passing the proposed law are not mutually exclusive.

His comments come in response to the presidency’s recent position that the LGBTQ issue is not a priority, as government focuses on pressing concerns such as jobs, cost of living, and healthcare.

Responding to host Evans Mensah on whether the President is justified in prioritising economic issues, Bishop Gyamfi acknowledged the importance of those concerns but warned against sidelining the bill.

“He’s not wrong in pursuing his matters, because Ghanaians need jobs. They need help. They need other things. So these are important, and they should be a priority for the President.”

He, however, stressed that the proposed legislation carries equal weight and should not be treated as secondary.

“And equally important and no less important is this law, this bill that Ghanaians have placed before Parliament, and we realise pursuing jobs, getting help for people, is not exclusive and cannot exclude, and should not exclude looking at proper family values and sexuality, the one does not throw away the other one.”

Bishop Gyamfi argued that pursuing economic recovery does not conflict with passing the bill.

“We do not see how pursuing jobs, creating health and other things, how passing family values law will affect negatively, adversely passing this law, so for him to say it is not a priority for us is a very dangerous statement.”

Pressed further on why he considers the position dangerous, he warned that it signals a lack of seriousness on the part of the presidency regarding the legislation.

“What makes it dangerous is he’s telling us indirectly that for him, this bill that Ghanaians, represented by a group of people, have placed before Parliament is not something that he’s considering seriously. The law is not important to him.”