GHANA’S parliament reconvened on Friday after being adjourned since March due to a dispute between the speaker and the president over an anti-LGBT bill. The session saw the approval of ministerial appointees and a $150 million loan agreement with the World Bank.
Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin stated that the urgent recall was ‘in good faith to enable the government to discharge its constitutional and democratic obligations to the people.’
In February, lawmakers unanimously passed one of Africa’s most restrictive anti-LGBT bills. However, President Nana Akufo-Addo has not yet signed it into law, awaiting the outcome of two legal challenges to the bill before it advances to his desk for assent. The delay has sparked backlash from bill supporters and disrupted parliamentary procedures, including the approval of ministerial nominations following a government reshuffle in February.
Speaker Alban Bagbin, who adjourned parliament in March, criticised the president’s refusal to sign the bill, calling it unconstitutional.
During the Friday session, parliament approved a $150 million loan agreement with the World Bank’s International Development Association aimed at improving Accra’s economic resilience. This approval passed by majority vote, while a proposal for tax exemptions for businesses was abandoned.
Additionally, 21 nominees for ministerial and deputy ministerial posts were confirmed, including two for the finance ministry. Minority MPs boycotted the vote in protest against the government’s size.
The president’s decision to delay signing the anti-LGBT bill followed a finance ministry warning that it could jeopardise $3.8 million in World Bank financing and derail a $3bn IMF loan package.
The Supreme Court has asked lawyers contesting the legality of the anti-LGBT bill to amend their motions due to inappropriate language and has postponed the case without setting a new date.
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