Government to ensure rights of the disabled - Minister

Akropong (E/R), June 10, GNA - Mr. Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister for Education, on Wednesday said the government would pursue vigorously the demands of the Disability Act, especially those that bordered on education, to ensure that the disabled assumed their right place in society.

He said government would work towards developing a disability-friendly environment to accommodate all children, provide devices such as hearing aids, brail equipment, computers as well as sign language interpreters to aid the development of the disabled. Mr Tettey-Enyo said this at Akropong in the Eastern Region when he launched the electronic versions of the Disability Act (715) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) Act (456) produced by CHRAJ to enable the disabled to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Disability Law. The launch was also to expose the disabled especially the visually-impaired to specific human rights knowledge, values and skills for enhancing their personal and national human rights development. The electronic versions of the Disability Act and the CHRAJ Law were produced in English, Ga, Ewe and Twi with sponsorship from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). Mr. Tettey-Enyo said the Ministry would collaborate with the Department of Social Welfare and the district assemblies to establish assessment centres in each district of the country to screen children for early identification of signs of disability and design necessary intervention measures to address them. He said the challenge facing the school system was how to provide an effective education system for vulnerable and marginalized people and prepare them for inclusive participation in the workplace and social environment, among others.

The Minister called on the public to play their roles well to ensure the realization of the broad goals of the two acts. Mr. Richard Quayson, Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ, said the launch demonstrated the Commission's commitment to ensuring respect for the rights of all persons with disability and also to create a free and just society where human dignity was protected. He said plans were underway to produce other electronic versions to explain human rights in general and the law as a whole to increase familiarity with the provisions of the Disability Act. Mr. Quayson said this was to ensure that the disabled took better control of their lives and improve their capacity to contribute to the fight to eliminate oppressive social structures that encouraged exploitation and oppression.