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LGBTQ+ issue: Even Kamala Harris visited with male husband – Margaret Ansei on the LGBTQ+ rights
Margaret Ansei, alias Magoo, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communications team has used American Vice President Kamala Harris’ marriage as a good reason Ghanaians reject same-sex relationships.
She holds that it is instructive that the US VP arrived in Ghana for her three-day visit with her husband who happens to be a man even though she believes same-sex marriages are issues of human rights.
Kamala Harris is married to Douglas Emhoff, who accompanied her on her African trip which started in Ghana and is currently in Tanzania. Zambia is their final stop before returning to Washington.
“For the three nights that she came here, she was in the hands of her husband, a man, for the three nights that she spent her. So, I was like, are we to listen to what she is saying or we are to watch what she is doing?
“Is it cognitive dissonance or what? You came with your husband just for three nights. She understood how important it is to be in the hands of a man as a woman for the three nights,” the one-time District Chief Executive stated on TV3 (March 30).
On the issue of whether LGBTQ+ issues were human rights as espoused by Harris, Magoo said, “we are a sovereign country, we have our own rights, it is unfortunate our president (Akufo-Addo) was not bold enough as his predecessors,” she stated.
Responding to a question at Jubilee House, in Accra, on Monday, March 27, Kamala Harris said that for her, the LGBTQ+ issue was one that bordered on human rights.
She added that every person has the right to live as s/he wants.
“Let me be clear about where we stand. First of all, for the American press who are here, you know that a great deal of work in my career has been to address human rights issues, equality issues across the board including those related to the LGBT community.
“And I feel very strongly about the importance of supporting the freedom and supporting and fighting for equality among all people and that all people be treated equally.
“I will also say that this is an issue that we consider and I consider to be a human rights issue and that will not change,” she stressed.
President Akufo-Addo also had a bite at the subject during their joint press conference at the presidency. He spoke to the current anti-LGBTQ law before parliament and assured that government had through the Attorney General made significant input into the legislation.
He said that the anti-LGBT bill, which was championed by “only a hand full of MPs”, is currently being considered by Parliament.
Akufo-Addo added that even if the bill is passed, it will still have to be ratified by him.
The two leaders made these remarks while addressing the press after having bilateral talks at the Jubilee House as part of Kamala Harris’s 3-day visit to Ghana.
The government is set to lay before Parliament today, November 21, a Constitutional Instrument (C.I) seeking to restrict the importation of selected strategic products into the country.
The items, numbering over 20, will include rice, tripe (popularly called “yemuadie” in Ghana), and diapers.
The government said the move is part of efforts to enhance local production.
Speaking during a press briefing in Parliament, the Minister of Trade and Industry, K.T Hammond said, “Stomach of animals, bladder and the chunk of intestines (yemuadie), the country had had to put in an amount of about $164 million towards the importation of these items. We are taking steps to ensure that in terms of rice, there’s no poverty of rice in the country.”
He emphasized, “By these restrictions, we are not going to ensure that there’s no food in the country at all; that is not the point at all. There have to be some efforts by the government to ensure that we go back to Acheampong’s operation feed yourself. There are about 22 items on the list, one of them, I think, is diapers.”
He announced the introduction of the Ghana Standards Authority Regulations 2023, which also seeks to streamline the manufacturing of cement to ensure competitive pricing.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says former President John Dramani Mahama does not understand the 24-hour economy policy he is proposing.
According to the Vice President, that policy is already being implemented in the country, as hospitals, fuel companies, among others, operate a 24-hour system.
Dr. Bawumia, therefore, urged Ghanaians to ignore Mahama during the 2024 polls since he has nothing new to offer and vote for the New Patriotic Party.
“John Mahama says he has a new idea. What is the idea? He says he wants a 24-hour economy. He doesn’t even understand that policy. Today in Ghana, our hospitals work 24 hours, our electricity company works 24 hours, our water company works 24 hours, our fuel stations work 24 hours, and many chop bars work 24 hours. Today because of digitalisation, you can transfer money 24 hours, you can receive money 24 hours… So he doesn’t understand his own policy. It doesn’t make sense.”
“So I want you to vote for me in 2024 because I will bring a new vision, I will bring a new policy. Mahama is the past, Dr Bawumia is the future. If John Mahama was there, we would say we have a dumsor economy, you can’t have a 24-hour economy in dumsor. So, you want to vote for Dr Bawumia in 2024, we will take the country to new heights,” Dr Bawumia stated.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of pressuring the House to pass a number of bills under a certificate of urgency.
Mr. Bagbin cited bills such as the Affirmative Action Bill, which is allegedly being pushed by the IMF as part of the conditionality for the balance of the $3 billion credit facility for Ghana.
Speaking at the Speaker’s Breakfast Meeting on Monday, Alban Bagbin insisted that the House will not be coerced by the IMF to pass the bill.
“Even in this budget, you can see the arm of the IMF in a lot of provisions in the budget. A critical bill like the Affirmative Action Gender Equality Bill has come to Parliament under a certificate of urgency. Please, it won’t happen; we won’t pass it under a certificate of urgency.”
“There are critical stakeholders we must consult and make sure we go together. We will not be dictated by the IMF; that one, you can be assured. This is a very critical bill that the IMF should know that we need the buy-in of the stakeholders to be able to implement it,” Alban Bagbin said.
The Affirmative Action Bill, when passed into law, would seek to expunge the historically low representation of women in decision-making spaces and promote democracy and development through all-inclusive participation.
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