People With Disabilities Bracing Up To Fight For Rights

A selected number of People With Disabilities, (PWDs), at a meeting in Ho, have unanimously braced up to fight for their rights through all levels of governance, or remain sidelined. Their opinion was that attempts at tackling their problems had largely been half-hearted, or only procedural. The meeting was to validate baseline data and evidence on the participation of PWDs in Local Governance. �We must compellingly and persistently put our case at the doors of the Assemblies, not fearing, because nobody would do it for us,� Francis Foli, a PWD, from Kpedze, in the Ho-West District stated. Angelina Wemegah, a PWD from Aflao said essentially, the importance of a PWD ended on the eve of elections, after the, (politicians), ferreted him or her from wherever, to vote for them. She said many Assembly Member knew next to nothing about the drive in the world, which Ghana was compliant, to ensure an inclusive society, where the needs of PWDs were as important as those of others. Delali Ivy Canu, from Aveme, in the North-Dayi District said, her Assembly Member dismissed her complaints about people tagging her person with her disability type, as flippant. Voice-Ghana, a Ho-based disability interest NGO, is carrying out a project with funding by Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), to actively promote the participation of PWDs in local governance and the civic decision-making process. Francis Asong, Director of Voice-Ghana, said the 99,759-dollar project running for 24 months in 10 districts in the Volta Region, would empower PWDs to stretch their minds beyond the yearly hassle for two per cent of the District Assemblies Common Fund. The survey to form basis of the project work sought to find, among other things, the number of PWDs conversant or participated in forums to discuss development in the districts, and also the number with ideas on some pro-poor policies in the country. Ms Mispa Helu, Programme Support Staff Voice-Ghana, said key development priorities collated from respondents in the survey were access rumps, employment, and skills training, among others.