Disability Council to register members

THE National Council for People with Disability (NCPD) has started developing a register containing the names and other relevant information of all persons with disability in the country.
The move is to give the council a clear understanding of the number, sex, ages, educational needs and qualifications, as well as other needs of all people with disability, with a view to addressing any challenges.
In an interview in Accra, the Chairman of the board of the council, Mr Andrew Okaikoi, said “the board will work assiduously to ensure that people with disability enjoy equal rights and benefits to be able to contribute their quota to national development”.
He said for a start, the board would this week organise a workshop to set up committees, especially the finance committee, to mobilise funds to register all persons with disability, to make it easier to seek support for them.
He added that the board was also collaborating with Ministry of Transport to ensure that Metro Mass Transit buses were fitted with integrated disability facilities to allow free movement of people with disability on such buses.
“We will also discuss with the ministry to employ some of the people with disability on such buses,” he said.
The NCPD was inaugurated by Vice-President John Mahama on April 7, 2009 in fulfilment of the electoral promise of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to Mr Okaikoi, the financial burden in implementing the policies and programmes to make life better for people with disability was enormous and could not be borne by the state alone, hence the decision of the board to seek funding from other sources.
Expatiating on the census of people with disability, he said the board was consulting with the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Ghana Statistical Service for their assistance in the area of identifying and counting all persons with disability.
He said the board would also dialogue with other government ministries, agencies and departments for them to appreciate the need to incorporate facilities that enhanced the movement of people with disability in their building plans and development.
Mr Okaikoi said the dialogue had become imperative because the law that made it mandatory for all public buildings to have easy access for people with disability would come to effect in the next seven years, because the law was passed three years ago.
“The law, which was passed in 2006, will take effect after 10 years, but as it is we are only appealing to people to have people with disability in mind when putting up structures,” he said.
On the claim by sections of the media that the old board that was constituted by the previous administration had been dissolved under the Mills Administration, he explained that out of the 14-member board, only five people were replaced.
The five people replaced were Prof. Gyimah Buadi of CDD-Ghana, Mr Amponsah Bediako, a former Government Spokesperson, Ms Victoria Sackey, Mr Francis Selormey and Ms Ruth Addison.