Technical Committee inaugurated to review Persons with Disability Act
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cynthia Morrison has inaugurated a Technical Committee to review the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (ACT 715) and prepare an accompanying Legislative Instrument (LI).
The Technical Committee is to review the Persons with Disability Act, (Act 715) and prepare an accompanying Legislative Instrument for submission to Parliament.
The Technical Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in 2018; amidst demands from organisations of persons with disabilities and civil society organisations to amend the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) to bring it in tune with international standard law.
The Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) was passed into law by Parliament in 2006.
Ghana ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UN CRPD) in 2012 and submitted its initial report to the UN CRPD Committee in June 2018.
Organisations of persons with disabilities, spearheaded by Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations undertook gap analysis of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715).
They came out with a recommendation that the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) must be reviewed to bring it in tune with the UN CRPD taking keen consideration of other relevant standard legislations.
In reflecting that disability is a cross-cutting issue, the Technical Committee was constituted from representatives from:
1. Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection
2. Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development
3. Department of Social Welfare
4. Ministry of Health /Ghana Health Service
5. Ministry of Justice and Attorney – General
6. Drafting Unit, Attorney- General Department
7. The Special Education Division – Ghana Education Service,
8. Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice
9. Judicial Service
10. Ministry of Justice and Attorney General Department
11. Ghana Federation Disability
12. The Academia – University of Ghana, Legon
13. The Academia – Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies
14. Centre for Employment of Persons with Disability
15. Special Mothers Project
16. Ghana Health, Child Health- Paediatric Neuro- Disability (Dr. Brew)
17. Ghana Mental Health Authority
18. University of Ghana, Department of Audiology – Speech and language Therapy
The Technical Committee would be expected to:
i. Review the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) to comply with United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability
ii. Prepare the Legislative Instrument to accompany the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715)
iii. Work together with Consultant(s)
iv. Consider the proposed amendment and draft Legislative Instrument submitted by organisations of persons with disabilities
v. Develop a road map for the review of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 and preparation of the draft Legislative Instrument
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection Dr. Afisah Zakariah welcomed the Team and the participants for responding favourably to the call.
The Deputy – Minister for Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection Hon. Freda Prempeh stated that the Technical Committee were strategically and carefully selected to steer the affairs of this noble committee. The Chairman of the Technical Committee, Dr. Kaba in his remarks expressed his appreciation of being given the opportunity to give his time in the interest of persons with disabilities.
The Sector Minister Cynthia Mamle Morrison inaugurated the Technical Team.
The inauguration and the maiden meeting of the Technical Committee is by the funding support of Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations.
The National Council on Persons with Disability under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection coordinated and facilitated the processes towards the review of the Persons with Disability Act (Act 715) and drafting of the accompanying legislative instrument.