During a recent stakeholder consultation in Tamale, Persons Living with Disabilities in the Northern Region presented a compelling proposal for amending the constitution. The aim was to ensure that working members of their community were guaranteed full-salary pensions, much like the retirement benefits enjoyed by certain public officeholders under Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution.
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A Step Towards Social Equity
The proposal originates from the ongoing constitutional review exercise, which has garnered contributions from various stakeholders, including government agencies, youth groups, and civil society organisations. Ayishetu Abubakari, a representative from the Northern Regional Chapter of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, emphasised the importance of social protection and equity for people with disabilities. She explained that extending the benefits of Article 71 to include people with disabilities would not only provide much-needed social protection but would also foster fairness in society.
“This change would enhance the quality of life for many of us, ensuring we receive the same rights as other public officeholders,” Ayishetu noted.
Expanding Benefits Beyond Public Officials
Currently, Article 71 provides retirement benefits only to a select group of public officials, such as former Presidents, Vice Presidents, Chief Justices, Members of Parliament, and other high-ranking officeholders. Ayishetu believes that this provision should be extended to working-class members of the disabled community, offering them the same pension guarantees as these officials.
“We propose that Article 71 should be amended to include us—people living with disabilities—so that we too can enjoy the full-salary pensions that are granted to other public officeholders,” she stated.
Direct Disbursement of Funds
In addition to the proposal for full-salary pensions, Mr Alhassan Shakun of the Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD) raised a concern about the current system of distributing the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) for persons with disabilities. Currently, funds are disbursed through the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs), which Shakun described as “overly bureaucratic, inconvenient, and burdensome.”
Shakun proposed that the DACF be disbursed directly to the beneficiaries instead. He argued that this would not only enhance transparency but also restore confidence in the management and utilisation of the funds.
Additional Proposals for Constitutional Reform
The Tamale engagement also saw several other noteworthy proposals aimed at improving governance and accountability within the country. Among the key suggestions were:
- Converting the Council of State into a second legislative chamber.
- Merging the Office of the Special Prosecutor with the Office of the Attorney General.
- Reducing the number of Members of Parliament from 275 to 200.
- Abolishing the position of the Regional Minister and making MMDCEs directly accountable to the Ministry of Local Government.
- Scrapping ex gratia payments for government appointees.
- Raising the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.
- Introducing regulations for campaign financing to improve accountability.
- Preserving the constitutional provision barring chiefs from partisan politics to safeguard the chieftaincy institution.
A Call for Active Participation in the Review Process
Professor Henry Kwesi Prempeh, the Chairman of the Constitutional Review Committee, commended the participants for their thoughtful contributions. He encouraged citizens to remain actively involved in the constitutional review process to ensure that their voices are fully heard and reflected in the final reforms.
As the consultation continues, these proposals have opened up meaningful conversations about fairness, transparency, and accountability in the country’s governance system, especially for marginalised communities such as persons with disabilities.
