PWDs Don’t Want Sympathy, They Want Rights Enforced – Minority Chief Whip

Minority Chief Whip and Nsawam Adoagyiri MP, Hon. Frank Annor Dompreh, says Ghana must move beyond sympathy and rhetoric to enforce real rights for persons with disabilities.

Commenting in Parliament on a statement by Deputy Education Minister Clement Apaak to mark the National Day of Persons with Disabilities, Dompreh warned that the country risks “celebrating the day without delivering change.”

“Sometimes we love the sympathy too much. PWDs don’t need our sympathy. They need us to enforce the law and give them what is due them as citizens,” he said.

The Minority Whip backed calls to review the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2006 to include: A 5% employment quota for PWDs in public and private institutions, Tax exemptions* for PWDs and companies that employ them and Penal sanctions* for institutions that fail to comply, not just moral appeals.

“If Parliament can give tax waivers to big companies, why can’t we give tax exemptions to PWDs who are struggling?” Dompreh queried.

He stressed that Act 715 has been in place since 2006, yet public buildings remain inaccessible and unemployment among PWDs is high.

“We pass laws and leave them on the shelves. That must stop. We need enforcement units, timelines, and budgets to make inclusion real,” he added.

Dompreh urged Parliament to lead by example and ensure the ongoing review of the Act delivers “measurable outcomes, not more promises.”

The National Day of Persons with Disabilities is marked globally on June 23 each year.