The Ghana Federation of the Disabled (GFD) has urged government to expedite action on the reconstitution of the National Council on Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) to offer policy guidelines for effective implementation of programmes.
The Federation said the purpose of the NCPWD is to formulate policies for persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to effectively participate in the national development agenda and ensure that members enjoy their fundamental human rights.
However, the redundancy of the Council is undermining the successful implementation of policies and programmes for the betterment of members, says Yaw Ofori-Debrah, President of the GFD in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at the weekend.
The mandate of members of the NCPWD expired on March 2012, and there has not been any attempt to reconstitute it, Mr Ofori-Debrah said.
This, he said, is seriously undermining efforts to implement policy guidelines, such as the enforcement of the National Disability Act to protect the interests of members.
He said the accessibility clause, requires public structures or places existing before the passage of the Act, to be redesigned or restructured.
Mr Ofori-Debrah said the clause has been ignored and sorrowfully three years to the expiration of the moratorium of the Act, nothing has been done to give PWDs with wheel chairs access to public facilities.
In another development, the Accra Regional Mental Health Alliance and the Mental Health Leadership and Advocacy Programme, has noted that government’s failure to constitute a Mental Health Board is undermining successful implementation of the Mental Health Act.
The Alliance made this known during a Stakeholder Council meeting in Accra. Members said lack of a Mental Health Board is affecting their operations and undermining mental health service delivery.
It is also destabilising the protection of the fundamental human rights of members.
The Alliance therefore, called on government to demonstrate commitment to mental health service delivery by establishing a board to formulate guidelines for the realisation of the goals of the Mental Health Act.
