The Minister of Manpower Development and Employment, Mrs Cecilia Bannerman, said the change in the name of the ministry was not to play down the importance of social welfare but rather to give a new direction to the total human development.

"The new name rather emphasises and shows the direction of government's focus on the total human development irrespective of a person's disability," the Minister told regional and district heads of the social welfare department, attending a review workshop in Accra. The ministry was known as Employment and Social Welfare.

The four-day workshop will identify the strengths and weaknesses in department's performance in the past one and half years and explore ways in which to overcome challenges in the execution of programmes.

Mrs Bannerman said the government was focusing on giving equal opportunity to people with disability in order to integrate them into the mainstream of the country's development process.

"As agents of change in the various communities you have to help change the psychic of our people towards persons with disability and also provide equal opportunity for them to develop," she said.

The Minister said the only way through which poverty could be alleviated was to provide all Ghanaians with equal opportunity to acquire skills, and improve on their capabilities with which they could work.

"Employment is key to poverty alleviation. If we deny them the opportunity they cannot work, they cannot develop and they cannot contribute to the national economy."

She charged the heads to liaise with the district assemblies and community development groups in their areas to enable them function properly to ensure that the people derived benefits from their activities.

Mrs Bannerman also asked them to develop their own personal proposals on how to enhance the welfare of the vulnerable.

Mrs Mary Amadu, Acting Director of Social Welfare, said inadequate budgetary allocation and lack of vehicles were making it difficult for the departmental heads to carry out their programmes effectively.

She suggested the sale of cars and motorbikes on hire purchase to the various heads to facilitate their work.

Mrs Amadu said in spite of budgetary constraints the department currently has 400 children at its training schools.