Member of Parliament (MP) for North Dayi, Rockson Nelson Defeamekpor, has refuted claims made by President Nana Akufo-Addo that significant portions of the Anti-LGBT bill have been modified.
President Akufo-Addo, during a joint press briefing with US Vice President, Kamala Harris at Jubilee House on Monday, said some modifications have been made to significant portions of the bill by the Attorney-General.
Adding that, the final outcome of the said modifications is yet to be determined.
“My understanding with the recent discussion I had with the chairman of the committee is that, substantial elements of the bill have already been modified,” he stated while responding to a question from a New York Times journalist.
However, responding to the claim, Mr Defeamekpor, who is also a member of the committee, stated that the President’s claims are unfounded.
He said very little changes have been done to the bill and that the bill still maintains its essence.
“Now another propaganda [that] has been put out is that the bill has been watered down, it’s been diluted, not at all. They should be rest assured the bill has not been diluted,” he said on JoyNews’ PM Express.
According to him, the only changes the Attorney-General had suggested were the removal of ‘proper’ from the bill’s official name and the reduction of the number of years assigned to offences from five years to three years in line with already existing laws on misdemeanor.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has assured the international community that Ghana’s Parliament will consider the sensitivity of the human rights aspect in relation to the bill which international observers have described as draconian.
“The legislation is a legislation that is being proposed as a Private Members Bill. This is not an official legislation of the government but it is one that is being mooted by a handful of private members,” President Akufo-Addo clarified.