The Minority Caucus in Parliament has called for the immediate recruitment of qualified unemployed graduates with disabilities into the public service, following a petition from the Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disabilities.

The petition was received on behalf of the Minority by Deputy Minority Leader and Asokwa MP, Patricia Appiagyei, and was presented by the Coalition’s Convener, Gilbert Boateng Agyare.

The Coalition outlined three key demands: “The immediate recruitment into the public service of qualified unemployed graduates on the Coalition’s verified list; strict enforcement of the employment quota for persons with disability in public sector recruitment; and the introduction of incentives for private sector employers who engage qualified persons with disability.”

In a statement signed by Minority Leader and Effutu MP, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Caucus described the concerns as “legitimate and firmly grounded in law.”

The Minority said Article 29 of the 1992 Constitution guarantees persons with disabilities protection from exploitation and discrimination and mandates Parliament to enact laws to enforce those rights.

It noted that Parliament responded through the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), which “obliges the State, through public employment centres, to assist persons with disability into work and grants tax rebates and special incentives to employers, private and public, who engage them.”

The statement also cited Article 17 of the Constitution, which permits Parliament to pursue affirmative measures that address social and economic imbalance, “which is precisely what the Coalition’s demands invite Parliament to strengthen.”

The Minority reaffirmed its commitment to “championing policies that give real effect to these constitutional and statutory guarantees, close the gap between the law as written and the law as experienced, and create meaningful pathways for persons with disabilities to contribute fully to national development.”

The Caucus commended the Coalition for using “the appropriate parliamentary channels” and assured members that the petition would receive the attention it deserves.

The statement said Parliament must work towards “a Ghana where ability, competence and determination, not disability, define one’s access to opportunity.”