Recruit physically challenged persons for all sectors - Foundation to govt
The Founder and President of the Lifting Others Foundation, Nicholas Yayra Akoto, has called on the government to recruit physically challenged individuals across all sectors of the country.
He made the appeal during a media engagement at the official launch of the foundation, an organisation committed to uplifting the less privileged.
He noted that continuous interactions with disability organisations and physically challenged citizens nationwide revealed a troubling, persistent pattern of exclusion and underutilisation of their significant talents.
“It’s time for the government to move past promises and take concrete steps to empower them,” he said.
Employment mandate
Mr Akoto urged the government to reserve at least five per cent of all available job opportunities specifically for qualified persons with physical disabilities.
He argued that those individuals were fully capable of excelling in a vast array of professional roles.
“They can thrive as bank tellers, information technology (IT) specialists, customer service representatives, data entry clerks, receptionists, dispatch officers, closed-circuit television (CCTV) operators, and call centre agents,” he affirmed, outlining a clear path for integration into the workforce.
National security
Crucially, Mr Akoto also highlighted the valuable contributions physically challenged individuals could make within the security sector itself.
He specifically named agencies such as the National Security, National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), Ghana Police Service, Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Fire Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
Their skills, he noted, were perfectly suited to supporting intelligence gathering and analysis, administrative work, IT support, customer service, CCTV monitoring, documentation, and records management—roles vital to modern security operations.
Free tertiary
In addition to his demands, Mr Akoto took a moment to commend the government—under President John Mahama—for introducing the landmark Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) initiative in late 2025.
This policy, legally backed by a GETFund Amendment Bill and implemented via the Students Loan Trust Fund, fully covers tuition and related costs at public universities for the entire duration of study.
He lauded the initiative as a major stride toward genuine inclusivity, ensuring financial barriers no longer obstruct PWDs from accessing higher education.
The Founder of Lifting Others Foundation emphasised that the effective empowerment of physically challenged individuals is not a charity, but an essential investment in building a more inclusive and equitable society.
“The government must act now to ensure that physically challenged individuals are given a fair chance to thrive and fully contribute to national development,” he concluded.
