Speed up amendment of Persons With Disability Act — Disability Movement

The disability movement in Ghana led by the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD) is calling on government to speed up the process of amending the Persons with Disability Acts, 2006 (Act 715).

The Parliament of Ghana in 2006 enacted the Persons with Disability Act 715 to protect, promote and fulfill the rights and wellbeing of persons with disabilities in Ghana. Subsequently in 2007, government signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional protocols, and Parliament ratified it in 2012.

Over the years, GFD has worked closely with the government on the need to amend the law. GFD has through a series of engagements made presentations to justify the need for the amendment of the Disability Act to be compliant with the CRPD.

In 2013, a gap analysis on Ghana’s Disability Act was conducted and subsequently a report on same was presented to Government. Again, the GFD consulted persons with disabilities and other relevant stakeholders across the country and some proposed measures to address the identified gaps in the Disability Act together with inputs for its accompanying Legislative Instrument was agreed upon and presented to Government in 2017.

A press statement signed by the Executive Director of GFD, Mrs. Rita Kusi-Kyeremaa, stated that “The Rights of persons with disabilities in Ghana are at a crossroad. Whiles the sector Ministry responsible for Disability issues – Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has no concrete information about the status of the review process, the National Council on Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) is not adequately resourced to champion the review of the Disability Act”.

The GFD is, therefore, calling on government to publish a clear roadmap on the amendment process within the third quarter of 2021, and also to give an undivided attention and commitment towards the process of amending the Disability Act 2006 (Act 715) for the full enjoyment of the rights by all persons with disabilities in Ghana.

Source: Modern Ghana