The Centre for Democratic Movement (CDM) has questioned the extensive amendments made to the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, arguing that recent developments have exposed inconsistencies in the narrative that the legislation was complete and only awaiting presidential assent.
In a statement issued yesterday, the group said Ghanaians were repeatedly told that Parliament had concluded work on the Bill and that the only remaining step was for the President to sign it into law.
However, the CDM noted that the latest version of the Bill currently before Parliament contains substantial revisions, raising questions about its true status during earlier public debates.
According to the group, the amendments go beyond routine legislative review and represent significant changes to the substance of the Bill, including its definitions, offences, exemptions, institutional safeguards and interpretative provisions.
The CDM pointed specifically to the removal of a provision in the original Bill that criminalised acts deemed to promote or facilitate the subversion of family values.
The original Section 3 prohibited any person from directly or indirectly instigating, encouraging, facilitating or promoting acts considered contrary to family values as defined under the legislation and prescribed fines and prison terms for offenders.
However, the organisation observed that the provision has been completely deleted from the amended Bill without any replacement, effectively removing what it described as one of the key enforcement mechanisms intended to protect family values.
“The deletion effectively eliminates one of the central enforcement mechanisms that sought to protect and preserve the family values the Bill was originally designed to uphold,” the statement said.
The group argued that the changes raise fundamental questions about how closely the current version of the Bill resembles the one that was vigorously championed by its proponents and presented to the public as ready for assent.
CDM further contended that the shift from calls for immediate presidential approval to a process involving substantial legislative revisions raises concerns about transparency and accountability in the handling of the Bill.
It maintained that if the legislation required such extensive amendments, the public should have been informed accordingly instead of being led to believe that the Bill had reached its final stage.
“The issue before the nation is not merely the content of the Bill, but the integrity of democratic communication and governance,” the statement stressed.
The movement has, therefore, called on the Government, Parliament and leading advocates of the Bill to provide a comprehensive explanation for the transition from urgent demands for assent to extensive amendments.
It is seeking clarification on why the Bill was previously presented as complete, whether the amendments were anticipated during earlier advocacy efforts and whether public discourse surrounding the legislation was influenced by incomplete or misleading information.
In the interest of public trust and accountability, the CDM also called for an official clarification and, where necessary, an unqualified apology to Ghanaians and the international community for any confusion or misrepresentation that may have characterised the management of the legislative process.
The group concluded by emphasising that democratic governance requires transparency, accuracy and honesty, insisting that “the truth must never be sacrificed for political convenience.”
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