NON-ENFORCEMENT OF THE DISABILITY RIGHTS LAWS IN GHANA: THE HEARING IMPAIRED AND ACQUISITION OF DRIVERS’ LICENSES

ABSTRACT

Non-enforcement of policies regarding persons with disability (PWDs) is a major national problem, especially when it comes to the hearing impaired and acquisition of drivers’ licenses in Ghana. The hearing impaired persons mobility to accessing some basic services such as education, social and economic activities, health and other cultural activities could depend on their mandate to drive to places in seeking for these basic services, hence the need for drivers’ licenses to ply the roads. Several attempts made by persons with hearing impairment in acquisition of drivers’ licenses have yielded no results. The objective of the study, therefore, is to investigate the non-enforcement of disability rights laws in Ghana focusing on the Greater Accra Metropolis. Among those involved in the study were hearing impaired persons who were 18 years and had applied or aspiring to apply for drivers’ licenses in Accra. Aside the hearing impaired, key informants from institutions such as Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, Ministry of Roads and Highways (MoRH), and Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD) were interviewed for the study. The study sought to find their awareness of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) and how the named institutions have incorporated the policy requirements into their operations; in other words, whether the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) is being fully implemented.

A qualitative research approach was employed in the study to have an in-depth knowledge (lived experiences) of the phenomenon. Twenty-one (21) participants were sampled with the help of an interview guide for the field data collection from respondents. The findings from this study included persons with disability interested in driving private, transport/commercial, and public vehicles when given drivers’ licenses. PWDs and other stakeholders including DVLA, MTTU and MoRH but most importantly, majority of the PWDs were not aware of the provisions in the

constitution and the Act to alleviate the problem. The study recommends an awareness creation and advocacy on Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) setting up an Agency to regulate, monitor and evaluate the activities of the MoRH and DVLA, involvement of PWDs in policy design and implementation, the need to use both of the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, and the enactment of Legislative Instrument (LI) to give full backing to the Act, perception and behavioural change towards Persons with Disability.