Investigate payment of disability allowances by GES

Kumasi, Feb 4, GNA- The Ghana Union of Physically Disabled Workers, has called on the government to investigate the payment of the disability allowance to physically disabled teachers and other category of disabled workers in the Ghana Education Service (GES).

This is because some District Directors of Education and their accountants had refused to pay the allowances approved by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

Mr Stanley Frimpong, National Co-ordinator of the union in Kumasi on Wednesday, said the GES had cheated them for so long. He said the GES was interpreting the payment of "Guide" under the disability allowance to mean only the payment of the blind to the disadvantage of the other disabled workers of GES.

Mr Frimpong contended that the interpretation being used by the GES that the word "Guide" referred only to the blind was wrong since according to him, the profile on disability in the National Disability Policy Document was very concise on who a disabled person was.

He pointed out that in an attempt by government to improve upon the living conditions of the disabled worker, a provision was made in the constitution which enabled the government to introduce the payment of the disability allowance to disabled who move about in their wheelchairs, callipers, crutches and other mobility gadgets are very dependent and rely on support services of assistants just as the blind rely on guides, Mr Frimpong pointed out.

He added that the assertive gadgets they use, disabled them to use the existing public and private means of transport without incurring extra expenses.

Surprisingly, however, many District Directors have simply refused to acknowledge this fact to pay the guide allowance to the disabled officers within the GES, while our colleagues in other establishments are enjoying without any hindrances. This is discrimination and sabotage from GES officials who should have known better.

Mr Frimpong spoke of their struggle since 1997 to get the allowance paid but proved futile.

Mr Frimpong said some district directors introduced a form 'C' to disqualify them from getting the allowance so the union took up the matter with the top hierarchy of the GES. He said they all denied ever instructing any director to use any Form 'C' to disqualify anybody and that they were seeing the form for the first time.

He said not long after this meeting, all the Regional and District Directors were summoned to a meeting at Ajumako at which they were told to refrain from indulging in acts to marginalize the disabled. However, Mr Frimpong said, in spite of this directive, some district directors and accountants have simply refused to pay them the allowances and rather accuse the GES Controller of Finance of double standards since they claim that he authorised the use of the Form 'C'.

He therefore called on the government to investigate the matter and pointed out that Ghana was a signatory to the UN Standard Rules on the equalisation of opportunities for persons with disabilities. Mr Frimpong said they were tired of lip-service and now wanted concrete action since they had been deceived for far too long and that the recent demonstration to air their grievances and the treatment being meted out to them by GES buttress their contention that they were being discriminated against.