The Attorney General & Minister of Justice Republic of Ghana
8th October, 2024
Honourable Godfred Dame,
PETITION FOR EXPEDITED FILING OF CASES RELATING TO THE PRO- FAMILY VALUES BILL
We refer to the Supreme Court ruling of Wednesday 17th July, where a five (5) member panel deferred ruling on two cases brought before it and where you were expected to file your documentation relating to one of these cases within a stipulated timeframe which has since elapsed.
This ruling effectively prevents Parliament, even if temporarily, from executing its constitutionally mandated responsibility of transferring the bill to the Presidency. The Supreme court furthermore suggested an early trial, signaling that it would potentially work to hear and rule on the matter in a timely manner.
We wish to bring to your attention that the Chief Justice has written to us indicating that your office’s failure to file its documentation is a major contributory factor at the heart of the current delay in proceeding with the hearings. This has apparently undermined the Supreme Courts intention to proceed with an “early trial”.
We find merit in the profound statement you made to the Judges last week, where you indicated that the 140 or so outstanding “Galamsey” cases could be cleared within one month (4 weeks) if the Judges were to give expeditious instructions.
In our view, the election petition cases are a good example of how this could be done and so we are calling on the CJ to speed up the processes related to hearing the cases on the Pro- Family Values Bill, which has been hanging for 10 weeks with no action.
Similarly, we believe that the Chief Justice’s response that often delays in the filing of documentation by staff of the AG’s is at the root of the slow pace of court hearings etc. is equally valid and the case of the Pro-Family Values Bill provides a classic example of how your office’s delay in filing has reportedly undermined the process for timely hearings.
It is important to note that this bill has seen three (3) years of very serious work. This has involved many stakeholders, several meetings, travel to other jurisdictions and the bill received the single highest ever number of memos provided on any bill, that has come before our parliament.
The draft PMB once received by Parliament was referred for legal opinion by the Speaker from the legal office of Parliament. This was to ascertain if it met Constitutional requirements. This clearance was provided by the Legal office and subsequently the Speaker admitted the Bill and forwarded it to the Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, who advertised for public memos, receiving a record number of 176 memos.
The Committee proceeded to hold extensive in-person and virtual hearings for all persons/groups who presented memos and that was a very thorough and long process. The eight (8) sponsors also showed evidence of the four (4) general public consultations that had been held and in addition ensured that the required fiscal impact analysis was done and submitted. As part of this process, the Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Committee intentionally created platforms to engage with several pro-LGBTQ groups and heard their testimony in camera.
Beyond this, you were invited to make inputs in September 2022. This request was effectively honored after a year in October 2023, when you appeared in person to make submissions and to address the Committee. The issues you raised were taken on board and addressed.
Parliament then spent another six (6) months working on the second consideration stage, where over one hundred (100) amendments were filed and debated in great detail before the third reading and the unanimous passing of the bill by Parliament on 28th February 2024. It has been a very long journey.
Clearly the bill before the Supreme Court, has gotten to this stage at very great cost to the peace loving, culturally proud and faith sensitive people of this country and we the citizens expect nothing less than that each branch of government “should do their duty”. Ghanaians are calling on and expect every elected or appointed officer in the Judicial system and the Executive to work diligently and expeditiously in performing their duty, so that no suspicions are fueled.
At this point, proponents of the Pro-Family Values bill together with the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, Advocates for Christ Ghana, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana, The Methodist Church of Ghana, The Catholic Church, The Assemblies of God Church, The Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Perez Chapel International, Royal House Chapel International, Traditional Rulers and Traditionalists, the Muslim Ummah in Ghana, and all other Christian ecumenical bodies and groups across the nation, petition you to act in accordance with your constitutional mandate and to:
1. Take urgent steps to complete filing the documentation if any relating to the case you have made, so that you are not guilty in the eyes of citizens of delaying court processes, which was the very complaint the Chief Justice made last week.
On behalf of the over ninety percent of Ghanaians (93% – according to CDD, 2021) who want our religious, cultural and social norms preserved and critically who expect that our children will be protected from western neo-colonialist notions and especially LGBTQI practices that have been shown to have immense negative impacts on the health and well-being of human beings, we submit this petition for your urgent action in promoting our welfare. Article 1(1) of our 1992 constitution states – “The Sovereignty of Ghana resides in the people of Ghana in whose name and for whose welfare the powers of government are to be exercised…”
God bless you, God bless our homeland Ghana, and God bless us all!
Source: 3news.com
