Dr. Mahamudu Bawimia
The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has pledged to prioritise tertiary scholarships for persons with disabilities (PWDs) if elected president.
According to him, though scholarships are being given to all manner of persons, his administration will dedicate a scholarship scheme purposely for PWDs.
Addressing the clergy during his tour of the Western North Region, Dr. Bawumia explained that this will cover both tuition and accommodation for PWDs so that they can also benefit from tertiary education.
“I believe that persons with disabilities, we need to support them a bit more,” said the NPP flagbearer.
“We are giving scholarships to all manner of people but I want to dedicate some of the money from Scholarship Secretariat and GETFund to provide free tertiary education, both tuition and accommodation, to all persons with disabilities, who will make it into the universities so that they can all benefit from that,” he added.
Dr. Bawumia also noted that his government will roll out other forms of support to people with disabilities and other vulnerable people in society.
He shared the work he has been doing to support vulnerable people in society, including his work as Patron of the Lepers Aid Ghana.
Dr. Bawumia stressed that, personally, he is committed to supporting vulnerable members of society because “it gives him joy.”
He added that as Patron of Lepers Aid Ghana, he has been engaged in lots of activities supporting the vulnerable, and his government will prioritise a broader support for persons with disabilities and vulnerable members of society.
PWDs Board
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who is taking the steps, has already appointed Joshua Makubu as his campaign coordinator for persons with disabilities and special needs as part of his commitment to fostering inclusivity in Ghana.
A statement issued and signed by Dr. Bawumia’s Director of Communications, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, said the Vice President has consistently advocated for the rights and inclusion of PWDs in Ghana.
According to him, since 2017, Dr. Bawumia has pushed for an increase in the allocation of funds for PWDs under the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), from two to three per cent.
He added that a total of GH¢331,185,775.86 has been disbursed since 2017 for PWDs across the 261 metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs), of which 59,040 persons have been supported.
Going forward, Mr. Aboagye said Dr. Bawumia aimed to strengthen the Local Economic Empowerment policy for citizens with special needs, to create livelihoods and foster national growth.
Plans include the recruitment of 1,000 special education teachers, retraining of teachers to effectively work with special needs students, and expanding training for speech and language therapists as well as occupational and behavioural therapists.
Secretariat
Meanwhile, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has opened the inaugural Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Secretariat, marking a significant milestone as the first of its kind since the party’s inception in 1992.
Speaking during the official opening of the NPP PWDs Secretariat at Kokomlemle, Accra, the NPP National Chairman, Stephen Ayesu Ntim, said the establishment of the PWDs Secretariat shows the NPP’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and representation within its ranks.
BY Daniel Bampoe