By Ibrahim Karim Bangura  (Tanko)

In a Town hall meeting on Thursday, 27th November, 2024 at the New City Hall Lobby in Freetown, the Ministry of Social Welfare engaged Persons with Disability (PWD) to discuss their challenges facing them over the years.

Speaking to attendees mainly comprising disabled persons, the president of the Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues, (SLUDI), Joseph Alieu Kamara says the Disability Act, of 2011 seeks to prohibit all forms of discrimination against persons with disabilities.

The implementations of the act are unrealistic based on the endless constraints faced by PWDs in the country.

“The act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in education, employment, voting, and in other areas. The act also guarantees free education for people with disabilities to be accredited into tertiary institutions.

It also requires schools to provide opportunities for persons with disabilities and ensure that educational institutions are accessible.”

“But government is acting too slow to implement majority of the issues affecting the disable,” SLUDI president explained.

Fatmata Kamara, a representative of Adama Foundation of the Deaf, said the act seeks to promote affirmative action in various areas to help people with disabilities being able to overcome barriers in society.

Adding that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) also  empowers the disabled to seek their rights.

The CRPD shifts the approach to disability from a medical standpoint or charity model to a social and human rights view and these are key, however; government is dragging its feet to doing the needful, he said.

“Our colleagues had seriously been beaten at  parliament building, other had also been  beaten at the Cotton Tree axis, especially those who  normally go out on the street begging. Some of our relatives are still without shelters.”

UN Residents representative, Ms. Seraphina Wakana of United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone, stressed that the inclusion of persons with disabilities in functional positions and in decision-making processes should be a universal concern.

She underscored the importance of planning, organizing, implementing, and supervising initiatives related to the disabled with active involvement by them.

Wakana expressed dissatisfaction with the untimely release of what she described as meager subventions from the Ministry of Finance to address such human rights concerns. Encouraging disabled persons to openly express their opinions in decision-making and in governance processes, is key to today’s 21st century nation building.

She urged the disabled them to leverage their lobbying and appealing skills for inclusion in capacity building and empowerment programs.

Ministry of Social Welfare, Mrs. Melrose Karminty, outlined the ministry’s agenda for the inclusion, participation, and development of persons with disabilities in governance and decision-making processes.

Karminty applauded UN and other donor partners for aligning their programs with  government’s plan and she emphasized the global significance of including disabled persons in governance. She highlighted  government’s commitment to addressing socio-economic challenges faced by those with special needs.

She concluded by urging all stakeholders, both in the disability community and within government circles to be collaborative on the

theme “Building Disability Inclusive Processes in Sierra Leone” for disability inclusion at community and national levels across Sierra Leone.