The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) has given Parliament the end of October 2022 to pass the anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) bill into law.
Reverend Professor Paul Frimpong-Manso, President of the Council, who made the call, said failure by Parliament to pass the law by the said date would see the GPCC take various actions against the legislature and government, including hitting the streets with its members to demonstrate.
He sounded the warning at a farewell service held for Reverend Dr Emmanuel Barrigah, the immediate past General Secretary of the GPCC, in Accra.
The Council, however, inducted into office Apostle Immanuel Nii Okuley Tetteh as the new General Secretary of the GPCC.
Rev Frimpong-Manso said the GPCC was in full support of the bill and that Parliament must speed up its passage into law for Ghanaians.
He cautioned that the Council would not hesitate to call its members to the street to demonstrate if Parliament failed to pass the bill into law by the close of October.
“I wish to use this opportune platform to remind Government and in particular, the leadership of Parliament and its Select Committee, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs that GPCC would not hesitate to call its members onto the streets should they fail to pass the Bill into law by the end of October 2022.
“We want that bill passed,” he emphasised.
The anti-LGBTQI bill also known as the “Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill,” is a private members bill, currently before Parliament which seeks to criminalise all anti-LGBTQ activities in the country.
Rev Frimpong-Manso commended Rev Barrigah, the immediate past General Secretary for his enormous contribution to the progress of the GPCC, especially in advancing the Council’s position in the formulation of the anti-LGBTQ bill.
He said under the transformational leadership of Rev Barrigah unity among Christians had been strengthened while public visibility of the GPCC had been enhanced over the past five years.
This, he said, had been achieved through the immediate past General Secretary’s consistent engagement with the media, close working relationship with sister church councils, the promotion of interfaith dialogue and the strengthening of civil society partnerships.
He also commended the General Secretary for the tireless role he played together with other Christian ecumenical councils to support the government to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There is no doubt that our prophetic voice over the period of your stewardship has sky-rocked, making GPCC a household name in the ecumenical fraternity,” he praised.
Rev Frimpong-Manso also wished Apostle Okuley Tetteh, the new General Secretary a success and assured him of the National Executive Council’s (NEC) maximum support and cooperation to enable him to perform his functions.
Apostle Eric Nyamekye, 2nd Vice President of GPCC, also urged the newly inducted General Secretary to seek the Lord’s assistance always to guide him in the discharge of his mandates.
“Look up onto the Lord, don’t look at what you will get. The true value of what you are coming to do is in the Lord and he will give you a great reward,” he said.
Apostle Okuley Tetteh, while appreciating the task ahead, pledged to discharge his duties diligently with and under the guidance of the NEC, to strengthen member churches to achieve the goals of the Council.
He also entreated members to work together for and maintain the peace of the country and that of the world.
Apostle Okuley Tetteh was born on November 5, 1966.
He was ordained as an Apostle in The Apostolic Church-Ghana on October 24, 2020, in Tema.
He is married to Lady Dr Helen Tetteh with four children; two boys and two girls.
Reverend Professor Paul Frimpong-Manso, President of the Council