We will empower PWDs, CPP pledges
One of the benchmarks of a society’s respect for human rights in modern times is the people’s readiness to relate with the vulnerable and the level of their generous spirit towards the weakest members of the society (poor, widows, persons with disability, elderly citizens and children).
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A collective sense of a caring society is anchored on the recognition that Persons with Disability (PWDs) are respected like everyone. This means society must rise above seeing PWDs as objects of pity and perceive them as capable individuals who are worthy of contributing immensely to the development of the society.
Years after the passage of the Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), persons with disability PWDs – in Ghana continue to face serious discrimination and institutional impediments to their efforts to contribute to national development. Physical access to buildings, including government or public buildings, remain limited.
Having realised the steep challenge people living with disability are faced with, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) pledges to ensure an integration of all disability issues in all government development strategies, planning and programmes. This looks laudable, if the intents are carried out to the letter.
To buttress their policy intent, the CPP says it will integrate a well-co-ordinated management systems for planning, implementing and monitoring at all levels of government operations. And to complement the process, a CPP Government wishes to ensure that there is capacity building and wide public education on the new paradigm of building a more just and inclusive society.
Pledge
Aside from ensuring the full implementation of the Disability Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the party says it will establish Assessment Centres in accordance with Act 715 and ensure the protection of the dignity of PWDs.
The CPP again said it was poised to set up the National Disability Council of PWDs to ensure the smooth implementation of the Disability Act and to decentralise the activities of the Council to improve access and quality of service of the PWDs at the local level.
Under education, the CPP is pledging to institute free education for all PWDs at public institutions, and provide the required resources, materials and facilities to enable access and facilitate their education in the country.
A CPP government also intends to provide PWDs with certain health conditions or illnesses with free healthcare under the NHIS, and introduce policies to ensure a 5.0 per cent employment for PWDs in the public sector, as well as give tax incentives to private sector employers who employ 5.0 per cent of PWDs.
Furthermore, the CPP is proposing to establish community-based rehabilitation and employment support for the disabled, and ensure that all metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) fulfil the parliamentary mandate to allocate 2.0 per cent of the District Assemblies Common Fund to activities that will benefit PWDs in their districts.
Policy of Inclusion
In the spirit of social inclusion and self-determination, the CPP is not just the first party to elect Lawyer Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, a PWD, as its presidential candidate, but the only party to have given the nod to 14 PWDs as parliamentary candidates throughout the country.
The CPP also hinted of setting aside a day to Celebrate Disability Excellence and enact policies that would make public transport in Ghana accessible to all PWDs.
Background
A cursory assessment of our society reveals a limited access by PWDs to education, transportation, employment, social exclusion. This, according to some experts, stem from social neglect, stigmatisation and some unhealthy socio-cultural perception in the Ghanaian society.
It is a fact that persons with disability today still face a lot of challenges in living a meaningful life. The effort of the CPP does not only show commitment and solidarity to empower the PWDs in the country but largely demonstrates a genuine sense of urgency of a party willing to walk hand-in-hand with them and ensure their overall progress.
