National Council on Disability holds stakeholder consultation on Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2024

The National Council on Persons with Disability, under the auspices of the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, has held a feedback engagement with stakeholders on the Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2024.

The feedback engagement followed a national validation meeting with stakeholders held on December 14, 2023. The validation meeting sought to obtain final consensus on the provisions of the Bill to justify its approval by the Cabinet and Parliament. Participants provided valuable input to improve the Bill. Last week's meeting provided an opportunity for stakeholders to review and provide feedback on the final changes.

The participants represented various organizations, including organisations of and for persons with disabilities, civil society organisations that work to promote the interests of persons with disabilities, academia,.among others.

A State Attorney Mr. Seidu Aminu, who led the facilitation of the meeting, emphasized the importance of stakeholder engagement in the enactment process. He stated that such engagements "offer the opportunity for all stakeholders to contribute their perspectives and take ownership of the bill."

He expressed satisfaction with the high level of participation, which he said demonstrated the stakeholders' commitment to the amendment process.

Dr. Yvonne Nana Ama Brew, a member of the technical committee that facilitated the review of the Bill, expressed her gratitude for the general acceptance of the Bill by the stakeholders. She acknowledged the contributions of all stakeholder groups throughout the four-year review process.

The board chairman of the National Council on Persons with Disability, Mr. Yaw Ofori Debrah, announced that preparation for a Cabinet memo was underway to facilitate the submission of the proposed Bill to the Cabinet by the end of the month. Once approved by the Cabinet, the Bill will be transmitted to Parliament for passage.

The feedback engagement was sponsored by the Star-Ghana Foundation.

The amendment of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) has involved a comprehensive review process, including 20 Technical Committee meetings, 8 national broad consultations, 1 national validation engagement, and the recent feedback engagement.