The Bongo District chapter of the Ghana Federation of Disability has eulogised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for nominating Joseph Makubu, a person with disability, as the Oti Regional Minister-designate.
The federation’s President, Clement Mba, made the praising remarks whilst marking this year’s International Day of the Disabled at the St Anne’s Parish Hall in Bongo, a district in the Upper East Region.
According to Mr Mba, President Akufo-Addo has shown visionary leadership by increasing the share of persons with disabilities in the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) from 2% to 3% and by also nominating Mr Makubu to steer the affairs of the Oti Region.
Mr Mba noted that the celebration of the International Day of the Disabled should have come off in Ghana on December 3, 2020, as designated by the United Nations (UN) but it was rescheduled for January 29, 2021, because of the general elections which were conducted on December 7, last year.
He revealed that a day had been set aside for advocacy on issues of disability and about 15% of the world’s population, which is 1 billion people, is estimated to have a disability. The 2010 Population and Housing Census (PHC), according to him, shows there are 4,063 Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) in the Bongo District, representing 4.8% of the district’s total population.
With those who are physically challenged being 23.3%, those with the difficulty in hearing being 21. 8% and those with speech impairment being 10.8%, Mr Mba emphasised that the PWDs in the district needed to be given more attention.
The theme of this year’s occasion is “Not all Disabilities are Visible”. The theme is focused highlighting the difficulty being faced by PWDs in participating in everyday life activities and accessing public places in the Bongo District.
Meanwhile, the Disability Act, Act 715 of 2006, was passed by Parliament as a means of guaranteeing the accessibility of PWDs to all public places and enjoy life with dignity but the law is still not properly enforced.
“Why are our own brothers and sisters simply refusing to assist in making life meaningful for us? The answer is apathy. And must apathy make a section of the society so uncomfortable?” Mr Mba lamented.
However, he called on all stakeholders and well-meaning Ghanaians to rise to the challenge of creating an integrated society with equal opportunities for all without any form of discrimination.
Mr Mba similarly expressed his gratitude to the Bongo District Assembly headed by Peter Ayinbisa Ayamga for showing a high level of interest towards PWDs in the district and appealed to him to fast-track the provisions of electricity and drinkable water at the district’s resource centre and gravel the road to the facility to ease accessibility. He also pleaded with assembly to provide the facility with a cleaner and a security officer.
Gaspard Ayuureneeya.
