Assin South Member of Parliament and co-sponsor of the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, John Ntim Fordjour, says recent comments by the Speaker of Parliament expressing surprise over the passage of the bill in its current form vindicate concerns raised by the Minority.

According to him, the Speaker’s indication that he will convene a meeting to review the process reinforces claims that the bill was passed under questionable circumstances.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsnight on Monday, June 1, Mr. Fordjour said the Minority had consistently raised issues regarding both the substance and procedure of the legislation, arguing that it was significantly altered during its passage.

“The Speaker has come and had this remark that he is surprised that the bill was passed in the manner they did and in the form they produced it, and he is surprised, and that he is going to call for a meeting to discuss the way forward. That vindicates our position and that vindicates all the concerns we raised and drew the attention of Ghana to,” he stated.

Mr. Fordjour further argued that the bill underwent extensive amendments that, in his view, changed its original intent and weakened its objectives.

Here is a corrected and cleaner version of the quote:

“We went through all the 31 amendments and the major changes they made to the bill, which rendered it substantially and materially different—completely bastardised and not fit for purpose,” he said.

He also accused the process leading to the bill’s passage of lacking transparency, alleging that some amendments were “smuggled in” and that Minority concerns were disregarded on the floor of Parliament.
“The Speaker… disregarded and bulldozed their way through, complete disregard for the Minority, complete disregard for the sponsors of the bill,” he alleged.

Mr. Fordjour described the legislation as flawed in both content and intent, insisting it deviates from the original objectives presented to Parliament.

He indicated that the Minority will participate in the upcoming engagement convened by the Speaker and present its position for further consideration.

“We will wait for that meeting and respect that engagement, and we will state our position at that meeting, and then the best course of action will be discussed,” he said.