Parliament resumes today for the Third Meeting of the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament, with the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, the South Africa evacuation expenditure and narcotics seizures expected to dominate business.
The Business Committee has yet to announce the order of business.
However, those three issues, and possibly renewed calls for scrutiny of GoldBod's operations, are likely to shape the nearly two-month meeting.
The Minority Caucus is expected to push all of them, but will face stiff resistance from the Majority Caucus, which has consistently disagreed with it and has the numbers to defeat them.
Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill
Public debate on the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill has cooled since it was passed on May 29 despite strong Minority opposition.
The Speaker, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has nonetheless kept it on the agenda.
He assured the House that the bill would be passed before the last meeting, but it was never considered, and Parliament adjourned sine die on July 31.
Speaking at the IPR Ghana 2026 National PR Conference and Excellence Awards in Koforidua on October 23, he said the new meeting would let lawmakers revisit the legislation, correct errors in the version previously approved and address concerns arising from last-minute amendments.
The meeting will therefore test Parliament's readiness to reconsider the bill, particularly its sentencing provisions and procedural concerns.
Support from the Majority may be limited, though. Its members have argued that there is nothing to reintroduce because the House has already passed the bill, which awaits Presidential assent.
SA evacuation probe
The Minority's demand for an independent investigation into the cost of evacuating Ghanaians from South Africa is also expected to feature.
Minority members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Ranking Member Samuel Abu Jinapor, want an inquiry into GH¢49.72 million reportedly spent evacuating 1,964 Ghanaians between May 27 and September 4, 2026, following xenophobic attacks.
The caucus alleges discrepancies in payment registers, duplicate entries, missing supporting documents and differences between the publicly announced expenditure and records supplied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is demanding an audit by an internationally reputable accounting firm and has called on Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to resign to allow an impartial investigation.
Majority members of the committee have denied any wrongdoing by the minister.
That makes the Minority's threat of a censure vote unlikely to succeed.
Narcotics seizures
The Minority is also expected to press for accountability over international narcotics seizures allegedly linked to Ghana.
The seizure of over 40kg of cocaine shipped through the Accra International Airport to Lebanon on October 31 is likely to renew its demand for full, verifiable information on seizures, arrests and prosecutions since January 2025.
The Speaker had earlier ruled inadmissible a Minority-sponsored motion seeking a parliamentary inquiry. He said the proposed probe substantially overlapped with ongoing investigations and court proceedings and risked prejudicing the parties involved.
The Minority disagreed, insisting that Parliament must retain its oversight responsibility, particularly on institutional weaknesses and border security.
While the Majority is expected to block any bipartisan probe, the Speaker's decision on whether to admit a fresh motion will largely determine how the House handles the matter.
How the Minority frames it could influence that decision.
Looking ahead
Beyond these issues, the House is expected to consider bills, committee reports and budget-related business as the year ends.
With the Speaker's renewed commitment to the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, the call for an independent audit of the evacuation expenditure and continuing questions about drug trafficking, lawmakers face weighty questions on legislation, accountability and national security.
