By: Precious Miracle Kargbo
Following a meeting that was organized to push for the speedy amendment on the implementation of the persons with disability act, the head of programming at the center for coordination of youth activities Abdul Karim Samura has on Thursday 7th September 2023 appealed for the review of the (2011persons with disability act).
Mr. Samura maintained that a person living with disability makes up about 10 percent of the Sierra Leone population which is a huge number according to them and notes that person’s livings with disability are the most vulnerable and marginalized in society. He added that in terms of education, social inclusivity, political and the economic situation in society, people with disability are always experiencing a very hard time as there is no balance for them in the society.
Head of programming at the CCYA Mr. Karim also mentioned that the disability act of 2011 created the provision of the disability commission and that commission was established to ensure the speedy implementation and addressing issues that are affecting people living with disability. “Over the years there has been a lot of Concern for the act to be reviewed and in 2019 in the Sierra Leone national development mid-term plan, standing from 2019-2023 and in clause 5 the President made a commitment to review policies and law that seeks to address the constraints of people living with disability”, Samura stated
Whilst on the implementation and review process, Mr. Karim said the ministry of social welfare is the parent body which started the review process by holding consultations at regional level with partners and member of parliament in the previous parliament just to see where there are rooms for improvement in the 2011 act so that the new act will cater more for people living with disability in this present day.
Brima furthers that CCYA as a youth serving agency fully acknowledges that people living with disability are part of the young people in the constituent, and they have been always calling on government to ensure that issues affecting persons with disability are judiciously addressed and most of these issues span from health, education, economic sustainability and their participation in governance decision making. “These are the four areas which they find very challenging, although the 2011 act advocates for all MDA’S to create disability desk that will make disability issues mandatory and the need to make all public buildings a disability friendly environment”, Director Brima explained.
“You will agree with me that in Sierra Leone several public building don’t have a disable friendly environment, so since His Excellency President Bio called for the review of the act it is completely 5 years now that this act has not been reviewed”, he said. He added that currently the Act is in the hands of the law officials that are looking at the drafting of the bill, but the main problem that comes out from that bill is because it is not popularized because most constituents in the province who are disabled are arguing that they have not been included, so they are calling on the ministry to make the bill to be popularized so that a lot of voices will be heard through the reviewed act.
Meanwhile, Coordinator Brima stated that a lot of lobbying meeting has been conducted with the ministry of social welfare, the disability commission, national youth commission and the disability councils at regional levels to ensure that they take into consideration all the issues highlighted by people with disability so that they will be catered for in the next reviewed act that is on drafting and will be taken to parliament. He highlighted that the disability commission is challenged with funds to undertake their activities because the policy allocation is limited, so that is why we are calling for the popularization of this act so that the voices of all persons with disability will be heard especially at the regional level.
He admonished that the CCYA is working to ensure that even when the commission is financially challenged, their voices as the disability commission should be heard and to carefully ensure more financial provisions and a wider popularization so that when the act gets to parliament it will be passed into law and cater for the success and improvement of persons with disability not only in Freetown but through the sixteen districts in the country.
