We can pass it by Friday – Dafeamekpor signals rapid move on LGBTQ bill

The Majority Chief Whip, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, says Parliament could pass the reintroduced anti-LGBTQ bill within days once debate begins this week.

Speaking on PM Express on Tuesday, South Dayi MP disclosed that the committee handling the bill has completed its work and is ready to table its report before the House.

“The report will be laid on Thursday,” he said.

According to him, Parliament is prepared to move quickly through the remaining stages of the legislative process once the report is presented.

“When it’s laid, we can take the report, debate it, that’s as part of the principles for second reading, and adopt it,” he explained.

“Once it’s adopted, we move into consideration. Consideration, we can even decide to do consideration on Friday, and pass.”

The Majority Chief Whip argued that Parliament was not dealing with an entirely new piece of legislation, as the House had already approved an earlier version of the bill.

“You see, the Ghanaian family values bill, we have already passed it,” he said.

“It was a certain president who decided not to sign, so the terms of the bill are essentially what parliament had already passed.”

His comments suggest the governing party intends to speed up the legislative process rather than reopen prolonged debates on issues lawmakers believe have already been settled.

When asked whether the bill would be passed this year, Mr Dafeamekpor insisted Parliament would complete work on it within weeks.

“Yes, in a couple of weeks, not even months,” he said.

“We’ll pass it once we do the second reading on Thursday or Friday, and with consideration, we can pass it.”

He also defended plans for an expedited process, arguing that Parliament should not be accused of abusing urgency procedures, since lawmakers were already familiar with the bill’s contents.

“But when we do consideration expeditiously, let the NPP not shout that we are abusing the certificate of urgency,” he stated.

“It will be rapidly done, because we cannot be reenacting what we have already read.”

The comments are likely to intensify debate over the controversial legislation, which has drawn strong reactions both locally and internationally since it was first introduced in Parliament.

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)