The Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disabilities is set to picket at the Jubilee House today, August 19, to demand greater access to employment opportunities within Ghana’s public sector.
The group says it is dissatisfied with what it describes as the government’s failure to adequately enforce legal provisions aimed at promoting the employment of persons with disabilities in public institutions.
According to the Coalition, recent public-sector recruitment exercises have not provided sufficient opportunities for qualified graduates with disabilities, despite the group’s efforts to submit the names of eligible applicants to relevant authorities.
The Coalition said it provided the Ghana Education Service (GES) with a verified list of 200 qualified graduates with disabilities for consideration during its recent recruitment exercise. However, it claims that none of the individuals on the list was recruited.
The group believes the development raises concerns about the practical implementation of laws and policies designed to ensure that persons with disabilities are not excluded from employment opportunities.
Speaking in an interview, the convenor of the Coalition, Gilbert Boateng Agyare, said the group is also calling on the Ministry of Finance to provide financial clearance to enable government institutions to recruit and deploy its members.
He said the Coalition wants between 400 and 500 financial clearances issued to create employment opportunities for qualified graduates with disabilities.
“We want the Finance Ministry to issue 400 to 500 financial clearances to help deploy our people to the various government institutions,” Mr Agyare said.
He noted that the GES recently recruited about 7,000 people, but despite the Coalition submitting 200 names for consideration, none of its members benefited from the exercise.
The group is therefore heading to the Jubilee House to draw the attention of President John Dramani Mahama and government officials to what it describes as the challenges facing unemployed graduates with disabilities.
The Coalition believes that granting the requested financial clearances would help government institutions absorb more qualified persons with disabilities into the public workforce.
