The Minority Caucus in Parliament has thrown its weight behind a petition from the Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disabilities, calling for immediate action to address the plight of qualified persons with disabilities locked out of the job market.
The petition, received on behalf of the Minority by Deputy Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Asokwa, Hon. Patricia Appiagyei, was formally presented by the Coalition’s Convener, Mr Gilbert Boateng Agyare.
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The group’s demands are clear, urgent, and constitutionally grounded. The Coalition is calling on the State to take three concrete steps: Immediate recruitment into the public service of all qualified unemployed graduates on the Coalition’s verified list; Strict enforcement of the existing employment quota for persons with disabilities in public sector recruitment; and Introduction of incentives for private sector employers who engage qualified persons with disabilities.
In a statement signed by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Caucus described the demands as “legitimate and firmly grounded in law.”
The Minority pointed to Article 29 of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees persons with disabilities protection from exploitation and discrimination, and expressly mandates Parliament to enact laws to enforce those rights – a duty fulfilled through the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715).
That Act, the Minority leader noted, obligates the State through public employment centres to assist persons with disabilities into work, and grants tax rebates and special incentives to employers—both public and private—who engage them.
Furthermore, Article 17 permits Parliament to pursue affirmative measures to redress social and economic imbalances, which the Minority leader says is precisely what the Coalition’s demands invite Parliament to strengthen.
The Minority reaffirmed its commitment to championing policies that give real effect to constitutional and statutory guarantees, and to closing the gap between the law as written and the law as experienced.
“We must create meaningful pathways for persons with disabilities to contribute fully to national development,” the statement read.
The Caucus commended the Coalition for pursuing their concerns through the appropriate parliamentary channels and assured them that the petition would receive the attention it deserves.
“Parliament works towards a Ghana where ability, competence and determination, not disability, define one’s access to opportunity,” the Minority leader added.