•Akoto Ampaw maintains that the bill is unconstitutional
•The anti-gay bill is currently at the public hearing stage
Legal Practitioner, Akoto Ampaw, has stated that the Anti-gay bill, if passed by Parliament, will place an extra burden of policing duties on the Ghana Police Service.
According to him, the implementation of the bill will mean that, more police personnel will be required to ensure that it is effectively enforced.
“It is clear from the reading of the provisions of the bill that it will impose extensive policing duties on the Ghana Police Service if the bill is to be effectively enforced,” he said, at the first public hearing of the anti-gay bill today November 11, 2021.
“The bill has been introduced in parliament, not in the manner laid down in the constitution. This is because this is a private members bill and under Article 108 of the constitution…2 and 3, it is the president or his agent who can introduce bills generally in parliament and where a bill however does not impose a charge on the consolidated funds of any public funds, then it may be introduced by a private member’s bill.
Lawyer Akoto Ampaw also argued that certain provisions in the bill will impose costs on the state coffers hence ought not to be passed.
“The bill with its so-called provisions for therapy…medical treatment will require in a situation where the person responsible for the assault has no money…would require that the state takes steps to provide medical services. This clearly imposes cost, charges on the consolidated common fund and therefore ought not to have been introduced by a private member’s bill,” he argued.
The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, also known as anti-gay bill, is being sponsored by 8 Members of Parliament.
The bill has received widespread support from various religious organizations in the country.
Lawyer Akoto Ampaw, together with some renowned academics, have opposed the bill describing it as a violation of the human rights of citizens.
Lawyer Akoto Ampaw