President John Dramani Mahama has announced new measures aimed at promoting economic empowerment for women with disabilities and strengthening the enforcement of Ghana’s accessibility laws.

Speaking at the launch of the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities initiative in Accra, the President revealed plans to introduce a dedicated programme for women with disabilities, offering entrepreneurship grants and leadership training to enhance their participation in national development.

“We will launch a dedicated programme for women with disability, providing them with entrepreneurship grants and leadership training,” President Mahama stated.

He emphasised that empowering women with disabilities through targeted capacity-building initiatives would help tackle both economic and social barriers that hinder their full inclusion in society.

The President also reaffirmed his government’s commitment to enforcing Ghana’s Accessibility Standards for Public Buildings and Facilities, which ensure that public infrastructure is designed to accommodate persons with disabilities.

“We will enforce the Ghana Accessibility Standards for all public buildings and facilities,” he said. “2026 will mark ten years since the enforcement of accessibility to public buildings was meant to be implemented.”

As part of the forthcoming amendments to the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), President Mahama disclosed that penalties for non-compliance would be significantly increased to ensure full enforcement.

“Therefore, in the amendment to Act 715, we will increase the term of imprisonment for persons who refuse to comply,” he announced.