Sierra Leone official decries disability discrimination there

From AllAfrica.com:

CONCORD, Sierra Leone — All People's Congress (APC) Member of Parliament representing constituency 109 in the western area urban has said he was not pleased with the way and manner in which people discriminate disabled persons in the country.

Hon. Julius Nye Cuffie told Concord Times that disabled persons are human beings. "They should not be discriminated against. Most times, discrimination occurs in the area of employment. People prefer to employ those that are not disabled than those that are disabled."

He urged the authorities to allocate a ministerial position to people living with disabilities so that their concerns would be well articulated.

Hon. Cuffie said for the past six years they have been agitating for the enactment of the Disabled Act, which according to him will help address issues of health, education and equal opportunities for the disabled.

A disabled person, Mohamed Conteh, said the current condition of his colleagues is unacceptable, noting, "It is not our fault to be disables. Our rights are not respected in Sierra Leone.

"We have been working with government ministries, departments and agencies to have a disability desk in their offices but to no avail".