Wa, Aug. 20, GNA - Mr Andrews Zoyaari, a hearing-impaired person, has appealed to the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) to make learning of sign language a constitutional provision for every citizen.

He said learning of sign language was important and necessary because it would enable every citizen to understand and communicate well with the deaf.

Mr Zoyaari made the appeal during the Regional hearings and mini consultations series of the CRC held on Thursday at Wa in the Upper West Region.

Mr Zoyaari, who made the appeal through Mr Andrews Owusu, the Commission's Sign Language Interpreter, explained that the lack of knowledge of the sign language on the part of many Ghanaians had made communication very difficult for the deaf.

The Upper West Region is the fourth in the series of the Commission's Regional hearings and mini consultations after Upper East, Brong Ahafo and the Northern Regions.

Mr Zoyaari said problems and concerns of the deaf were not fully expressed and understood at places where there was no sign language expert to interpret the message.

The hearing-impaired man urged legal practitioners, health workers, security personnel and other professionals to do well and learn the sign language to reduce the stress the deaf normally went through in putting across their problems and concerns to them.

He noted that there were many of his colleagues in the country, who had little or no knowledge at all regarding the sign language and called on parents and government to make conscious effort to get such people enrolled at the Schools for the Deaf.

Mr Zoyaari said he could teach many people the sign language and appealed for support to enable him to do so.

Madam Victoria Balubie, a visually impaired person and a teacher at the Wa Methodist School for the Blind, also appealed to CRC to make a constitutional provision to allow disabled salary workers to retire with their salaries.

She said this would enable them to continue to take good care of themselves while on retirement as many of them had neither care takers nor any other source of income to live on when they retire.

She also called on government to adequately resource the special schools across the country to cater for the special needs of the disabled.

Another physically challenged woman participant called on government to directly release funds into the Persons with Disability Fund (PWDF) instead of it passing through the District Assemblies, which made it difficult for them to access.

Professor Albert Fiadjoe, Chairman of the CRC commended the participants especially the disabled for coming to submit their concerns on the review of the constitution.

He said the level of participation clearly indicated that Ghanaians are law abiding citizens.

SI/LQ