Accra, Nov 19, GNA –
Madam Cynthia Mamle Morrison, Minister for Gender, Children and Social
Protection has inaugurated the Technical Committee to review the Persons with
Disability Act, (Act 715) and prepare an accompanying Legislative Instrument
for submission to Parliament.
The Committee will
also prepare the Legislative Instrument to accompany the Act, Work together
with Consultants, consider the proposed amendment and draft Legislative
Instrument submitted by organisations of persons with disabilities, develop a
road map for the review of the Act and prepare the draft Legislative
Instrument.
The Technical
Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social
Protection in 2018; amidst demands from organisations of persons with
disabilities and civil society organisations to amend the Act, 2006 (Act 715)
to bring it in tune with international standard law.
The Act, 2006 (Act 715) was passed into law by
Parliament in 2006 and Ghana ratified
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UN
CRPD) in 2012 and submitted its initial report to the UN CRPD Committee in June
2018.
Organisations of
persons with disabilities, spearheaded by Ghana Federation of Disability
Organisations undertook gap analysis of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715).
In reflection that disability
is a cross-cutting issue, the Technical Committee was constituted from representatives from the
Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection, Ministry of Local Government
and Rural Development, Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of Health, Ghana
Health Service, Ministry of Justice and Attorney – General, Drafting Unit and
Attorney- General Department. Others were, the Special Education Division –
Ghana Education Service, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice,
Judicial Service, Ministry of Justice and Attorney General Department, Ghana
Federation Disability, the Academia – University of Ghana, Legon, Centre for
Disability and Rehabilitation Studies.
The rest were;
Centre for Employment of Persons with Disability, Special Mothers Project,
Ghana Health, Child Health- Paediatric Neuro- Disability (Dr. Brew), Ghana
Mental Health Authority, University of Ghana, Department of Audiology – Speech
and language Therapy
The Chief Director
of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection Dr. Afisah Zakariah
welcomed the Team and the participants for responding favourably to the call,
while Freda Prempeh, Deputy Minister of
the Ministry stated that the Technical Committee were strategically and carefully
selected to steer the affairs of the committee.
The Chairman of the
Technical Committee, Dr Samuel Kaba in his remarks expressed his appreciation
for the opportunity to give his time in the interest of persons with
disabilities.
The inauguration and
the maiden meeting of the Technical Committee was funded by the Ghana
Federation of Disability Organisations, while the National Council on Persons with Disability under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection coordinated and facilitated
the processes towards the review.
GNA
