Government gives tax rebate to employers of Persons with Disabilities
Government has given tax rebate to employers, who engage the services of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), to motivate and encourage employers to employ more PWDs.
Mr. Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, the Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, disclosed this at a ceremony to mark the International Day of Persons living with Disability, at Wa.
This year’s celebration was on the theme: “Together for a Better World for all: Including Persons with Disabilities in Development”.
Mr Sekyere said Ghana was expected to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPWDs) by the beginning of next year, to ensure that the rights of PWDs were well protected in the country.
He said the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, had met with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Social Issues, to expedite action on the ratification process.
Mr Sekyere said PWDs had a lot of potentials, which must be unearthed, hence, the establishment of the National Council on Persons with Disability, to advice the Government on how to design policies targeted at tapping those potentials.
He said the Government was partnering with rLG Communications, to equip about 5,000 PWDs with Information and Communication Technology skills in fulfillment of the two commitments it made to the 20 per cent of the citizens of Ghana, living with disabilities.
Mr. Sekyere announced that Government had also increased the Disability Common Fund from 2% to 3% to help them undertake projects to enhance their livelihoods.
Mr. Joseph Adu-Boampong, President of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled, said PWDs encountered problems such as stigmatisation and discrimination.
He said it was against this background that 30 years ago, the United Nations first observed the International Year of the Disabled Persons under the theme: “Full Participation and Equality”.
Mr. Adu-Boampong said since then the World Programme of Action (1982) and the Convention on the rights of the PWDs, which according to him, made significant progress in raising awareness on the rights of PWDs and in strengthening the international normative framework to realize those rights.
He said more countries were protecting and promoting the rights of PWDs but they still had problems.
Mr. Adu-Boampong said in developing countries, the gap in primary school attendance rates between children with disabilities and others ranged between 10 per cent and 60 per cent.
He called on the Government, civil societies and the global community to work alongside PWDs to achieve an inclusive, sustainable and equitable development worldwide.
Mr. Adu-Boampong appealed to the Electoral Commission to ensure the registration of PWDs to enable them to participate in elections.
Wheelchair Foundation based in California and Ministerial Development and Relief Programme based in Canada, donated 250 wheelchairs valued at $100,000 for distribution to PWDs.
Source: GNA