In the quest to secure jobs for its members, the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations (GFD) has struck a partnership with the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) to facilitate the creation of jobs for the benefit of the physically challenged.
As part of the collaboration, the two organisations have jointly hosted a breakfast meeting in Accra that created the platform for various stakeholder organisations and government to discuss and fashion out ways of promoting job creation for the PWDs who make up about 10 percent of Ghana’s population.
The meeting was attended by Ministers, Members of Parliament, private business leaders, employers and leaders of civil society organisations.
Mr Mohammed Awal, Minister for Business Development, who was the guest speaker, described PWDs as an untapped resource in the country.
“They represent 10% of the country’s’ population, and it would be to the detriment of the country if we abandon them,” he said.
To help in overcoming the challenge, he explained that his Ministry has met with the PEF, the government and banking institutions “and we are going to fund the capacity building of PWDs in Ghana. We are also going to provide them with jobs.”
“We are going to put up an entrepreneurial policy between the second and third quarter of this year, and it would be a roadmap for entrepreneurship training in this country. We are going to ensure that PWDs are included,” he added.
Mr Nana Osei-Bonsu, Chief Executive Officer of PEF, for his part, said “the stigmatisation most people have towards PWDs must be removed. PWDs are enabled differently than others, but this does not mean that they cannot perform on the same level as someone without a disability.”
“A lot of businesses are not aware of the incentives they can get from the PWD Act 2006 (Act 715) that they can take advantage of. We at PEF are going to bring awareness and aid in reducing the stigmatisation that most employers have,” he added.
Mr Yaw Ofori Debrah, President of GFD, in an interview with ADRDaily on the essence of the meeting, explained that the objective was to create awareness among employers, policymakers and stakeholders about the capabilities of PWDs, and the potential benefits in employing them.
“It is good that we do these things to provide hope to PWDs such that they can be assured that when they complete their education be it secondary or tertiary, there is a good chance that they would get employment,” he added.
By: Fred Gadese-Mensah/adrdaily.com
