The Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has strongly criticized President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's decision to decline assent to the Witchcraft and two other bills.

Francis-Xavier Sosu decried the president's refusal, labelling it as "very retrogressive and smacking of bad faith."

The bills in question are the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2022; the Criminal Offences Amendment Number Two Bill, 2023; and the Armed Forces Amendment Bill.

In response to the president's letter explaining his decision, Sosu expressed astonishment, particularly regarding the assertion of constitutional infractions.

He highlighted that both bills had passed through consensus at committee and plenary levels, and their rejection at this stage was perplexing.

"It is quite strange that at this last stage, the President would say that the bill has violated some Constitutional provisions. Once a bill has been admitted and has gone through all the processes and passed, it has become an act of Parliament. And no provision in the Constitution says that when an act has been by Parliament, the President can choose not to assent to the act on grounds that that act or its enforcement will in some respect have a charge on the Consolidated Fund,” he said.

Sosu emphasized the misinterpretation of Article 108 by the president, asserting that the bills, aimed at addressing societal issues affecting vulnerable members, were wrongly rejected.

“So, the president misconstrued article 108 when he gave that as a basis to refuse an assent and it is quite retrogressive and unfortunate. Unfortunate because we are talking about a social problem that is destroying people, the life of most vulnerable people of our society — elderly women, widows, marginalised,” he said.

He stressed that the rejection was "retrogressive and unfortunate," especially given the bills' importance in combating human rights abuses.

Sosu criticized the president's failure to provide specific reasons and proposed amendments within the constitutionally mandated 14 days, opting for a blanket statement instead.

He highlighted the bills' international recognition during the Universal Peer Review in Geneva, where Ghana's Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, cited them as progressive measures addressing human rights abuses.

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NAY/AE