General News
Transport Systems Should Be Disability Friendly
Akwasi Fredua The Executive Director of the Centre for the Employment of Persons with Disabilities (CEDPD), Mr. Alexander Tetteh, has expressed dismay at the various forms of discrimination that People With Disabilities (PWDs) continuously suffer in trying to access the public transport services.
According to him many, PWDs are not allowed to board public transport services since drivers and their mates do not have the physical strength to carry them together with their wheel chairs. Most drivers, he said, think that PWDs might waste their time since they are competing for the same space with abled passengers within a specified time.
" Some drivers too will not stop to pick us because they believe we are begging for alms and might not have money to pay for the fare, and what makes it more pathetic is that some passengers will not allow drivers to stop for us to board the car. "
These remarks were contained in a petition the CEDPD presented to the Minister of Transport, Mr. Mike Hammah in Accra. The burden of the petition was the inaccessibility of transport systems by PWDs in Ghana.
Mr. Tetteh explained that Section 23 - 30 of the Persons With Disability Act 2006, Act 715 under the heading Integration of Needs of Persons with Disability, specifically states that the Ministries responsible for rail, air, road transport and where appropriate the Ministry of Local Government shall ensure that the needs of PWDs are taken into account in the design, construction and operation of the transportation network.
He said the Act therefore makes it mandatory for government to ensure that the needs of PWDs are taken into consideration in road transport systems.
Provisions have also been made for PWDs to import for personal use any non-conventional vehicle of their choice without the payment of any form of import duty. The Law also provides for reserved seats in all public transports for PWDs. There are provisions also for reserved seats in all public transports for PWDs. The hearing impaired also has the right to own a license upon passing the necessary test organized by the Driver and Vehicle License Authority (DVLA).
Mr. Tetteh also asked the Ministry to expedite action on the establishment of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system which the Ministry announced in Accra. The views of PWDs, he maintained, were sought during the development stage of the project about three years ago, but the concerns of PWDs got lost in the final stage because none of the planners or the developers or the consultants were PWDs.
He promised that CEPD together with concerned PWDs would employ all legitimate means to ensure that BRT system was never implemented if it was not disability friendly.
A member of CEDPD, Mr. E.T. Plahar, echoed Mr. Tetteh ' s concerns by appealing to government to make sure that all vehicles imported to the country are disability friendly.
Responding to the CEDPD concerns, the Minister for Transport, Mr. Mike Hammah, said in line with the new road traffic policies, the Ministry was making provision for PWDs in its new designs and that it was now mandatory that all new vehicles imported into the country should be disability friendly.
Additional Information
Country: Ghana
Website: http://allafrica.com/stories/201002221155.html
Email: N/A
Phone: N/A
Contact Person: N/A
Source: Email from: MORI, Soya
When: 25/2/2010
