Showdown between Disability Interest Groups and institutions imminent

Mr Max Vardon, the Executive Secretary of the National Council for People with Disabilities, has said a showdown between disability interest groups and disability law non-compliant institutions was imminent.

He said as time ticked to the end of the 10-year moratorium on the full observation of the Ghana’s Disability Act enacted 2006, not much was happening with implementation.

Mr Vardon was speaking at a workshop on a Study of Local Assembly Provisions for Persons with Disabilities in Ghana held in Ho.

He said the disability interest groups had the leverage to act and that the law was behind them.

Mr Vardon said there were many options to take including demonstrations to protest the inactions of these institutions including the government.

Partners in the study are Voice-Ghana, a Ho-based Disability Interest NGO, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and Local Governance Network (LOGnet).

A total of 50 Metropolitan, Municipal and

District Assemblies (MMDAs) were surveyed for their provisioning and support for two key dimensions which are Social Services and Social Protection for PWDs.

Mr Francis Asong, Director of Voice-Ghana, said the study conducted by the Research Unit of GACC was to capture how MMDAs captured priority needs of PWDs in their Medium Term Development Plans for implementation.

“This will enable Voice-Ghana and partners to develop appropriate advocacy strategy in line with Ghana’s decentralization policy to support MMDAs to easily capture and implement priority needs of Persons with Disabilities without much financial constraints” he stated.

Mr Asong said Ghana’s Persons with Disability Act (Act 715) in 2006, going with other international protocols could not be cosmetic.

Mr Samuel Harrison-Cudjoe, a Research Officer of GACC, said the studies showed that social protection of PWDs was poor as only one percent of them accessed pro-poor support.

He said the study was representative of Ghana as assemblies were picked from the coastal, Savanna and forest zones.

Mr Harrison-Cudjoe said generally institutions were not committed to welfare issues of PWDs.

During discussions, Ms Juliet Nugble, a broadcaster, said it was important that people were taught when growing to accept PWDs just as one of them.

“That will change the attitude of acceptance,” she stated.

Mr Saaka Sayuti, the National Coordinator LOGnet, said the network had made an input on the side of PWDs on the emerging new local government act before parliament.