Pass Anti-gay bill by October ending - GPCC tells Parliament

The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) has called on Parliament to speed up the passage of the anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Bill into law.

The council has therefore served notice to Parliament to pass the anti-LGBTQI Bill, also known as the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, into law by the end of October 2022.

It said failure by Parliament to pass the law by the said date would see the GCPP take various actions against the legislature and government, including hitting the streets with its members to demonstrate.

The President of the council, Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso, made the call at a farewell service held for Rev. Dr Emmanuel Teimah Barrigah in Accra last Saturday, which also saw the induction into office of Apostle Immanuel Nii Okuley Tettey as the new General Secretary of the GPCC.

“I wish to use this opportune platform to remind Government and in particular, the leadership of Parliament and its Select Committee on Constitutional, 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,” Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso stated.

The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill is a private members bill, currently before Parliament which seeks to criminalise all anti-LGBTQI activities in the country.

The council’s stand

Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso commended Rev. Dr Barrigah for his immense contribution to the progress of the GPCC, especially in advancing the council’s position on the formulation of the anti-LGBTQ bill.

He indicated that Rev. Dr Barrigah, during the campaign for the bill, worked together with promoters of the bill by mobilising the GPCC family across the country to present memoranda, while physically appearing at Parliamentary Select Committee sittings to defend the council’s position in favour of the bill.

Appreciation

In his remarks, Dr Barrigah gave glory to God for the successes and achievement chalked up during his tenure.

He thanked the council, his family, the Global Evangelical Church, staff of the national secretariat as well as his predecessors for their support.