Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has accused the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of abandoning the anti-LGBT law it strongly promoted while in opposition, questioning the party’s commitment to principles it once defended publicly.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, January 26, Minority Leader Mr Afenyo-Markin said the NDC has gone quiet on the proposed anti-LGBT law, barely a year after assuming office, despite previously campaigning aggressively for its passage.
According to Mr Afenyo-Markin, while in opposition, the NDC consistently argued that Ghana needed an anti-LGBT law to protect the country’s culture and religious values.
“In eight parliaments, when they were in opposition, they told the whole world that Ghana needed an anti-LGBT law,” he said. “They said it was to protect our culture and our religious beliefs.”
He noted that the party openly campaigned for the bill across the country.
“They were allowed on the streets of Accra. They went into our villages. They engaged the media, religious leaders, and traditional rulers,” he stated.
However, Mr Afenyo-Markin said the party’s posture changed after winning power.
“One year down the line, they have been in office, and they have gone quiet on the anti-LGBT law,” he said.
He criticised President John Dramani Mahama’s comments, suggesting that the government was undertaking broader consultations to improve the bill.
“We hear the President say they are doing wider consultations to see how the law can be better formulated,” he said. ” Was it not the same law they said was okay to be passed?” he questioned.
The Minority Leader further accused the NDC of frustrating the legislative process when a private member’s bill was introduced by Minority MPs to push the law forward.
“When the Minority decided to pin them to their own principles through a private member’s bill, the NDC suddenly used procedure to claim there was no approval by the Speaker,” he alleged.
He said the party went further to shift blame to the Clerk of Parliament.
“They tried to scapegoat the Clerk to Parliament after all processes had been followed and approval given,” he added.
Mr Afenyo-Markin accused the government of deliberately denying Ghanaians a law it once promised.
“As we speak, they have refused, neglected, and deliberately denied the people of Ghana the anti-LGBT law they themselves spoke about,” he said.
He also raised concerns about what he described as the promotion of sexual rights in the school curriculum.
“To make matters worse, they have found space in our curriculum to introduce the promotion of sexual rights to our children,” he claimed.
According to him, government officials later described the development as an error.
“When they were exposed, they said it was a mistake—an anomaly,” he said. “What an anomaly.”
He questioned how official documents approved and signed by a sector minister could be described as an error.
“These were government documents, printed, circulated, and signed by no less a person than a sector minister,” he noted. “It was only through the vigilance of the minority that this was exposed.”
Mr Afenyo-Markin accused the NDC of using the anti-LGBT law as a political tool.
“We do not accept this,” he said. “The NDC used the anti-LGBT law only to win power. Now that they are faced with reality, they are trying to run away from it.”
He insisted that the minority would continue to pressure the government to act.
“We will insist that they act by their own principles,” he added.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com