Christian Council worried about anti-LGBTQI Bill controversy

The Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) has expressed disappointment over the controversy surrounding the passage of the anti-LGBTQI Bill by Parliament, saying the development is “very concerning”.  

The General Secretary, Rev. Dr Cyril Fayose, said the council was “not too happy that there is this back-and-forth” on a matter it considered critical to the morals and existence of society.  

Speaking at the launch of “The Voice of CCG”, a weekly broadcast on issues of national and global importance, in Accra last Friday, he questioned Parliament’s handling of the bill.  

“They are a house of rules and a house of procedure. So, how can that same parliament come up, pass something and then turn around and say, well, we have a problem with what has been passed?

So, there are all kinds of problems with this, which is very concerning to us because it’s a very serious matter to us,” Rev. Dr Fayose said.  

He said the morals and values of society must be upheld at all costs, “especially when it pertains to the very existence of humanity.”  

Rev. Dr Fayose, however, said the Christian Council had not yet seen the final version of the bill passed by Parliament and was, therefore, withholding full commentary until experts had studied it.  

“As of now, we don’t know the full facts.

We want to study the documents. We have experts, lawyers and others who are leading the policy.

They are experts who want to study the documents and update us.  

“What we have not really seen is the document that has been passed, the bill that has been passed.

We have not seen it yet.

So, we are going to get that from Parliament and study it against the old ones and see whether the changes that have been made are acceptable to us,” he stated.  

The General Secretary of the Christian Council added that the council’s legal and policy team was already working to review the bill and would advise the council after comparing it with earlier versions.

Engagement

Updating the Christian Council and the media on happenings in Parliament, the Communications Advisor of the Council, Koku Anyidoho, said he had engaged some parliamentarians last Thursday on behalf of the CCG.

Mr Anyidoho stated that the Council had been legally advised and would “do the right and proper thing” by writing officially to the Clerk of Parliament for a copy of the bill and all its appendices.  

“The Christian Council is not part of the toing and froing that is taking place in Parliament.

We leave that one for the parliamentarians to do.

But to the extent that the Christian Council of Ghana is an integral part of the initial bill that was put across, the Christian Council will do the right and proper thing,” he said.  

He reiterated that once the council received the document, its legal team would study it alongside earlier versions and then come out with a “very, very refined and considered opinion on the matter”.  

Mr Anyidoho assured the media and the public that the council would not be silent on the issue.

“The Christian Council is not going to sleep on this matter.

The Christian Council will do what is expected of it in the supreme interest of the country,” he said.