DAILY GRAPHIC - Tuesday, 31st March, 2015

By George Folley, Koforidua

VOICE GHANA, a non - governmental organisation in partnership with the Local Governance Network (LOGNet) and the Ghana Anti - Corruption Coalition (GACC) is implementing a project that seeks to ensure that Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) mainstream key components of Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities into their development plans and budgets.

The two year project is being funded by the Disability Rights Fund in the United States of America with a total grant of 67,000 Dollars.

Addressing a workshop for selected District Planning Officers from the Eastern Region in Koforidua, the Programme Coordinator of VOICE GHANA, Mr. Charles Nyante, said the first phase of the project, which looked at the baseline evidence and data that was established on inclusion of disability in the development plans and budgets of the MMDA's has been completed. He said under the second phase, it was planned that programmes would be held in seven regions to introduce the MMDA's to Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) and engage them to mainstream key components of the Article into their Medium Term Development Plans and Budgets.

Mr. Nyante hoped that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development would support the project and engage MMDA's in the country to mainstream key components of Article 28 of the CRPD into their development plans and budgets. "This arrangement is to enable persons with disabilities to benefit more from social protection programmes other than the current two percent District Assembly Common Fund that is earmarked for them in each MMDA", he added.

The Former Executive Secretary of the National Council of People with Disability, Mr. Max Vardon, urged MMDA's to design development projects and programmes to ensure that persons with disabilities could participate and benefit from them in addition to buildings, office spaces and facilities being accessible for them. He said there was the need to include persons with disabilities in all stages of district planning and implementation.

FACT SHEET

Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities specifically speaks to the importance of States Parties to recognize the right of persons with disabilities to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of their living conditions. The Article further stipulates that States Parties should take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right without discrimination on the basis of disability.