The Upper East Regional President of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations (GFD), Mark Akubire Atiah, has welcomed several disability-related commitments captured in the 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy but urged government to ensure the promises translate into real implementation.
Reacting to the budget shortly after its presentation by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Mr. Atiah said many of the announcements gave hope to persons with disabilities (PWDs), but past experiences show that policies often appear in budget documents without being carried out.
Mr Atiah described the pledge to provide free tuition and free accommodation for students with disabilities in tertiary institutions, backed by an allocation of Ghc25 million, as one of the most significant proposals.
“If this one comes, then it will be good, because a lot of us want to go to the tertiary institutions… If the ‘dare’ is coming, it will help us a lot,” he said, expressing optimism that the intervention could open academic opportunities for many young people with disabilities.
He also commended government’s decision to increase the Disability Common Fund (DCF) allocation from 3% to 5%, noting that the move, if implemented, would “equally help a lot of us.”
However, the GFD regional president expressed reservations about the budget’s plan to procure electronic wheelchairs, saying it risked benefiting only a section of the disability community.
“It would be like one component of the disability society is going to benefit… We have so many organizations that make up the GFD… So, it’s like the tricycle or wheelchair users are going to benefit one side,” he said.
Mr. Atiah said he believed the rollout might be the beginning of a broader support scheme and hoped subsequent interventions would include other disability groups such as persons with albinism, the blind, the deaf, little people, and others under the federation.
The GFD leader also highlighted concerns about poor infrastructure, particularly deplorable road networks in the northern parts of the country. He said inaccessible roads pose daily risks to wheelchair users and persons with mobility challenges.
“Especially in northern Ghana, most of the roads are not motorable… Even those who are able are not able to dodge the potholes, how much more a wheelchair user,” he stressed.
While welcoming the budget’s commitment to road construction, Mr. Atiah reminded government to incorporate disability pathways into major road projects to ensure safe mobility for all.
He urged policymakers to remember the appeals made by disability groups during the election campaign season and design roads and public infrastructure that do not inconvenience or endanger persons with disabilities.
Mr. Atiah concluded by calling on government, stakeholders, and development partners to ensure that disability-specific commitments in the 2026 Budget do not remain on paper but are translated into real improvements in the lives of persons with disabilities across the country.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Bolgatanga
