EC jobs also for the Disabled

The disabled in Ghana is not barred from pursuing careers in the various areas of the electoral process.

Eligibility would however be based on competence only, Ms Regina Tackey, Gender and Disability Desk Officer at the Volta Regional Directorate of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) said on Tuesday.

She was addressing of a colloquium of the disabled, aspiring Members of Parliament or representatives in the Agortime-Ziope and Adaklu constituencies, EC officials, Social Welfare Officers, among others at Agortime Kpetoe.

Ms Tackey said all that the disabled needed to do was to pursue those jobs, stating and demonstrating their skills and credentials not waiting on the sidelines.

According to her, what the EC could do was to take into consideration the level and type of disability of the person recruited, when processing the postings, to enhance their performance.

She said electoral officers would be available to help the disabled during voting, and that where necessary, ballot boxes could be lowered for a disabled person without the reach to use it.

Ms Tackey said there were specially crafted ballot papers to facilitate the voting of the visually impaired even without an aide, if so desired.

She said arrangements at the polling stations would be disability-friendly.

The meeting was under the aegis of Voice of the People with Disability (Voice- Ghana), a disability-interest advocacy group based in Ho, working under the sponsorship of a Strengthening Transparency, Accountability in Ghana (STAR) programme.

Mr. Francis Asong, Director of Voice-Ghana, said the project was to stimulate the interest of the disabled in politics in the two-constituencies and across Ghana as the December general elections approached.

He listed access of the disabled to polling stations, party rally grounds and low interest of politicians in affairs of the disabled as some of the organization’s concerns.

Citing a Voice-Ghana base-survey in the Agotime-Ziope and the Adaklu constituencies, Mr. Asong said while around 60 per cent of persons with disabilities were interested in political activities and had the desire to participate, 27 per cent had never attended any political party activity because of poor access.

Mr. Moses Kwao Gati, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Agotime-Ziope Constituency Chairman, said his party was disability friendly as showed in the current fluid release and disbursement of the 2 per cent of the District Assemblies Common Fund for activities of the disabled.

Mr. John Amenya, New Patriotic Party (NPP) Agotime-Ziope Constituency Secretary, said his party’s stance on the issue of the disabled, reflected in the many social intervention policies initiated while in office from 2000 to 2008.

Mr. Mawunya Akunya, Youth Leader of the National Democratic Party (NDP), in the same constituency said his party would actively pursue the interest of the disabled.

Madam Susan Akortia, Agotime-Ziope District Director of the Department of Social Welfare, urged the EC to make electoral officers disability-interest conscious through training.

Mr. Kofi Gbedemah, a Board Member of Voice- Ghana said politicians should continually show interest in the welfare of the disabled at all times and not only during elections.