Persons with disability push for fair representation

The Ghana Federation of the Disabled (GFID) has called on the President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to appoint qualified members of the group into ministerial and other positions when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration takes over the baton of leadership of the country.

The group said the continuous sidelining of its members from political appointments by past governments did not encourage social inclusion and participation in the development process of the country.

The President of GFID, Mr Yaw Ofori Debrah, who made that known in an interview with the Daily Graphic on Monday, said the leadership of the federation had compiled a list of their members (persons with disability) who had the potential to occupy various positions. The list, he said, would be forwarded to the office of the President-elect for consideration.

“We are proposing that at least, persons with disability (PWDs) ought to have a representation on the Council of State, because that is the body that advises the President on key policies. If PWDs are represented there, a strong case will be made for the vulnerable and disabled people,” he added.

Low representation

Mr Debrah observed that currently PWDs had no fair representation in terms of appointments to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), a situation, he said, deprived them of some constitutional entitlements.

“The provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPWD) have not been fully adhered to. More to the point, we have identified some gaps in the Disability Act 2006, Act 175, and recommendations have been made for the amendment of the Act.

“While we expect action to be expedited on the draft bill that seeks to cure the ills in the Disability Act, we are of the view that deliberate policies ought to be put in place to create employment opportunities for PWDs as a way of empowering them,” he added.

Initiatives by PWDs

In August this year, PWDs launched the guidelines for inclusion and participation of disabled persons in the electoral process. The document sought to engage the leadership of political parties to include issues of disability in their 2016 manifestoes, which would form the basis of holding them accountable when they assume power.

Since the launch of the document, most of the political parties who contested the December 7 elections, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC), New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Convention People's Party (CPP), had made some policy provisions for disabled persons in their manifestoes.

But speaking to the Daily Graphic in a seperate interview, the Project Coordinator for Inclusion of PWDs in the 2016 Election, and disability advocacy person, Mr Joshua Makubu, observed that the time had come for the next government to give a practical voice to PWDs in line with its manifesto.

"We have PWDs who are lecturers, industry players and professionals, while others are key activists of political parties at the branch, constituency and regional levels. The incoming government has no excuse to overlook such people in appointments," he added.

Mr Makubu added that judging from the critical role some disabled persons played in political parties, especially in the NPP, “I expect that when Nana Akufo Addo names the first 10 ministers or district chief executives (DCEs), there should be a disabled person among them.”