"I did not intend to hurt people with disabilities" – Nana Addo apologizes

General News of Monday, February 4, 2019

Source: citinewsroom.com

2019-02-04

President Nana Akufo-Addo apologized to people with disabilities for her insane comments on the visually impaired and hearing impaired.

At a rally in Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency, President Akufo-Addo praised the performance of his government, saying that only the blind and deaf could ignore his promises.

But in a statement on his Facebook page, he expressed his regret and badured that people with disabilities had the support of his administration.

Regarding the comments I made at the last rally before the partial election at Ayawaso West Wuogon, which was won by the NPP candidate, I am pleased that the Federation of People's Organizations Ghana's "Political Metaphor". I did not have the intention to hurt the disabled, and I would never do it, and hope that they know it.

There was a government that sided with people with disabilities, that is my government. We have increased the share of the District Assembly Common Trust Fund to persons with disabilities from 2% to 3% and we have also implemented our commitment to employ 50% of the people who manage the country's toll booths. among the disabled. . I apologize for any unintentional remark of the "political metaphor".

The excuses come after the Ghana Federation of Disabled People's Organizations joined a section of Ghanaians to complain about the president's remarks.

The president was criticized for perpetuating the stigma against people with disabilities in a country where most public spaces were not suitable for people with disabilities.

Ghana has more than 5 million people with disabilities.

More than a necessary excuse

The President of the Ghana Blind Union, Ayisshietu Ibrahim, said such comments were contrary to efforts to end the stigmatization of people with disabilities.

"We are not satisfied with the comments. We always know if developments are happening or not, despite the fact that we are blind or deaf. When we walk on roads, we can know if they are paved or not. We know it's a political metaphor, but the president could have used so many words. "

She also said that he was expecting much more than the president's apology after the insensitive comments.

"We do not want excuses; we simply want to invite him to be better written in his speeches than to use blind and deaf people. It's not just the president, but all the other politicians to make people see people with disabilities differently. We are doing our best to educate them, otherwise it will thwart our outreach efforts. "