Sierra Leone disabled MP works to block watered down disability law

From Awoko in Sierra Leone:

Disabled MP Julius Nye Cuffie (pictured) has said the proposed draft bill for the Persons with Disability will be staunchly rejected by the disabled community.

The MP had moved a private member motion in Parliament to table the Person’s with Disability Bill draft, which had been validated at a National Consultative Conference of disabled, but that the Government through the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs took over the bill.

He explained that what the Ministry has done was to completely water down the original disability bill earlier endorsed by the disability groups.

Hon. Cuffie highlighted key provisions which he deemed as unacceptable as he said in the bill he was to have tabled; provision was made for a proposed commission for persons with disability. Also, that the Chairman was to be appointed by the President on the advice of the Minister of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs in consultation with the disabled persons.

He also said that the commission was to comprise of other stakeholders working on disability issues including disabled persons organizations. But he highlighted that the draft bill of the Ministry has the disability commission changed to National Council for Persons with Disability whose chairman is to be appointed by the Minister on nobody’s advice and that the disabled persons are not represented.

In the Ministry’s Council, Hon. Cuffie said the Education Ministry, Labour, Finance, Health, Social Welfare, Local Government and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice are to form part of the Council.

To add to that, he stated that one member is to be appointed by the Sierra Leone Employers Federation and one appointed in consultation with the Labor Congress with three from NGO’s and such other member to be co-opted to serve in the Council. “I am not against the membership but that persons with disability are not represented like what I did in the last bill where I factored the blind, polio, speech and impaired unions”.

He accused the Ministry of paying lip service to issues on disability and said “It is unacceptable to the disabled community and we will not accept it as I will canvass all MPs that they should not accept the bill. We reject it in its entirety” he stated.