Accra, Dec. 5, GNA - The President of the Ghana Federation (GFD) of the Disabled, Mr Yaw Ofori Debrah on Tuesday appealed to the Government to expedite moves to set up and appoint executives of the National Council of the Disabled (NCD) as it would be the pivot on which the effectiveness of the Disability Law would hinge.

He noted since the law was passed after a great toil they would not rest on their oars until its spirit and letter was fully implemented. Mr Dedrah was speaking at the opening of a roundtable organized by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) to discuss the implementation, monitoring, evaluation and impact of the Disability Law on the disabled as well as relevant stakeholders. He indicated that several laws had become dead letters and their provisions were not known. They would, therefore, not allow the Disability Law to suffer the same fate after a long battle to get it passed.

Mr Debrah pointed out that the value of the Law could not be underestimated since it gave the disabled their rights that had been flagrantly violated over the years.

Dr Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua of CDD-Ghana, who evaluated the post-enactment activities of the Disability Law, noted that there were certain parts that required immediate implementation saying their rights and social needs should receive attention to ensure that families desisted from shunning the physically challenged.

He also mentioned discrimination against and exploitation of the disabled and employment as provisions of the Law that needed immediate implementation.

Dr Appiah-Atua called on revenue collection agencies to come up with regulations that provided tax exemptions and incentives to individuals and companies, which engaged the services of the disabled. He stated that the provision of free education, posting, transfer and redeployment as well as importation of non-conventional vehicles should be dealt with immediately to enable the disabled to benefit from the Law. Dr Appiagyei-Atua said the medium and the long-term provisions of the Law could be looked at later. 5 Dec. 06