MP calls for institution of National Award for the disabled

Mrs Freda Prempeh, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano North, has called for the institutionalization of a National Annual Award for people living with disabilities.

She explained that giving national recognition to people living with disabilities, would inspire other physically challenged, to aim higher and contribute significantly to accelerated national development.

Mrs Prempeh made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra on Wednesday, to mark the commemoration of the United Nations’ International Day of People Living with Disability.

The day, which falls in December 3 every year, was instituted by the UN in 1992, and observed globally to promote the welfare and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.

This year’s celebration is on the theme: “Sustainable Development: The Promise of Technology.”

Mrs Prempeh noted that disability population stood at about 10 percent of the national population, which was equated to about 2.2 million.

“The disability population is very significant which demands critical attention from government and other stakeholders in the development process of the nation,” she said.

Mrs Prempeh added that “paying attention to the progress of People Living with Disabilities in the employment sector, can lead to the enrichment of the national labour force.”

The MP observed that disability itself did not impede the progress and development of the disabled, but she was worried that society remained unfriendly to people with disabilities.

Mrs Prempeh expressed concern that the disabled were among those whose access to technology was challenged, and stressed the need to adopt technologies to improve the standards of living of the physically challenged.

She recounted that in 2012, government initiated a policy that sought to train people with disabilities, in the use, repair and assembling of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment, as a means to empower them economically.

The training, Mrs Premepeh said, was laudable, since it could position the disabled well on the labour front, and afford them the opportunity to lead decent lives.

“Two years on, the initiative appears not to have been sustained,” she noted, and appealed to government to re-visit and re-package the programme.

"The GYEEDA concept must prioritize the ICT training and entrepreneurship skills for people living with disabilities which should be adequately funded when the GYEEDA Bill is finally passed by Parliament,” she said.

Mrs Prempeh emphasized the importance to revise guidelines for the utlization of the three percent share of the District Assembly Common Fund meant to support people living with disabilities.