Clear hawkers from the street pavements - blind cry

At their biannual regional congress in Ho, the blind and partially sighted, have expressed concern over the increasing obstacles they face on pedestrian pavements in the Ho Township.

They said the presence of mobile phone credit card sellers, petty traders and even food hawkers on the pavements was a great bother to them and thus they should be cleared.

The meeting which was organized under the auspices of the Ghana Blind Union reached a unanimous decision that the practice ought to be checked before it worsens.

Participants from all parts of the region vehemently protested attempts by Mr Fedelis Attoh, Public Relations Officer of the Ho Municipal Assembly, to dampen-down their concerns, calling for action now.

Mr Fedelis Attoh, who represented the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) had earlier attempted to parry these concerns, saying tackling the problem affected the livelihoods of many and that the visually disabled should accept to live with it for now.

His position brought a number of the participants up at one time, all saying the time to tackle the problem was now and that they (visually disabled) had been blamed and castigated many times by hawkers for stepping on their wares.

Mr Attoh then withdrew his comments and promised to carry their concern over to the Municipal Assembly.

Another issue of contention discussed at the congress was the allocation of two percent of the District Assembly’s Common Fund for the disabled.

Whereas many of the participants claimed that the district assemblies were simply uncooperative in the management of the Fund, Mr Attoh said all that the disabled needed were cogent business plans presented through the umbrella organization of the disabled to be considered.

Mr Yaw Ofori-Debrah, National President of the Ghana Blind Union, said the funds were not meant for distribution to the disabled and that those needing it must justify it in documentation.

He said there was the possibility of government canceling the allocation if evaluations indicated that the objective for which it was initiated was not being met.

Mr Ofori-Debrah said the ICT programmes for the blind were being established to help raise their capacities in all areas and make them employable.

Mr Wilson Anku, Volta Regional Chairman of the Union, commended the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) for its support for the Union over the years.