Political Marketer at the University of Ghana Business School, Professor Kobby Mensah, has indicated the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has lost the opportunity to convince Ghanaians about his stance concerning the anti-LGBTQ+ bill as his initial silence has created a lot of assumptions in the minds of Ghanaians.
He argued that the Vice President’s situation was further complicated by the President’s decision not to assent to the bill. He indicated that the Vice President by voicing his opinion in that moment would have contradicted the government’s position on the bill as the President embodies the government.
“The President, having said that he will not assent to it, somehow put it in a position that perhaps he supports it, and that makes Dr. Bawumia’s position much more difficult. If he comes out, he contradicts the government’s position…if he doesn’t, the confusion is, does he or does he not [support LGBTQ+]?”
Professor Kobby Mensah
Furthermore, he noted that the ideal time the Vice President should have made known his stance on the issue is when the issue was still new and “everybody’s mind was on it”. He indicated that the issue has been buried at the moment and so is the Vice President’s late stance on the issue.
“The issue is no longer at the front burner of conversations, people have moved on. Currently, we are speaking about the Performance tracker…. people have gone with the idea that he hasn’t spoken about it”.
Professor Kobby Mensah
Prof. Kobby Mensah pointed out that although the President’s reason for not signing the bill is legally justified, it was actually influenced by the “so-called” development partners. These partners, he alleged, hinged their demand for the bill not be assented to on the current IMF program that the country is undergoing.
He indicated that the general public does not see the legal perspective as the reason behind the President’s decision, arguing that Ghanaians perceive the influence of the under forces as the reason why the President will not assent to the bill.
NPP Frowns On LGBTQ+
Meanwhile, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, the Communications Director of the Vice President’s Campaign Team argued that, beyond the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer’s principles which are against the practices of LGBTQ+, the NPP, which is a conservative party, frowns on the act.
He indicated that one of the sponsors of the bill is from the Majority Caucus in Parliament, arguing that the massive support the NPP caucus gave the bill on the floor of Parliament is proof of the party’s stance on the LGBTQ+ issue.
“That fact must be established, every other opinion is just the usual political propaganda where others always want to take advantage of some of these things”
Dennis Miracles Aboagye
Concerning whether the Vice President was too late in making clear his stance on the issue, the NPP Communicator defended that there was no deadline given for when a person could make his or her stance known on the issue, indicating that the Vice President has the sole discretion to decide that.
He argued that the conversation about the anti-LGBTQ+ has not ended, as it is still a raging conversation. He argued that contrary to the speculations of Prof. Kobby Mensah, the President has not stated emphatically that he (the President) will not assent to the bill.
However, Prof. Kobby Mensah argued that while there is no structured deadline for issues like this, public interest in an issue determines whether or not a conversation is relevant. He indicated that in political communication and political discourse, the deadline is the period of intensity, noting that when the period of intensity dies out, the deadline sets in.
He emphasized that while the NPP as a party may have political values that do not promote LGBTQ+, certain pressures on government may conflict with the values of the NPP putting the party and government in a dilemma.
Conclusively, Prof. Mensah indicated that it is understandable that the NPP is in a dilemma, noting that it is easy for a party in opposition to state its values and position and stand firm by them as opposed to a party in government.
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