The Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations (GFD) has called on Political parties to endeavour to elevate the National Council on Persons with Disability into a commission that ensures inclusive development.

Mr Alexander Bankole Williams, Advocacy Chairman of the GFD, said the proposed commission should have a separate budget with funding from the consolidated fund.

“Political Parties should also commit to ensuring the implementation of Section 49 (1) of Act 715,” The section 49 of the Persons with Disability (PWDs) Law says that the government should establish regional and district offices of council.

Mr Williams made the suggestion when the Federation met to analyze the political parties manifestos and make suggestions to the parties on what the disability community needs.

He pointed out that even though the two major political parties had made allusions that they engaged persons with a disability during the development of their manifestoes, they did not consult the mother associations, and therefore the disability community was not constructively consulted leading to the exclusion of some key concerns.

The GFD among other issues also urged the political parties to conduct an assessment of the inclusive education policy, extend the policy to other schools and ensure the full inclusion of the needs of persons with disability in the free senior high school policy as well as implement free education of persons with disability at the tertiary level.

Other thematic areas discussed by the forum included; issues of Employment of persons with a disability, the District Assembly Common Fund for persons with a disability, Transportation of PWDs, Accessibility issues and the Disability Act, Gender, Health and Sports