Disability bill still in committee

Dec 22, 2009 News

By Fareeza Haniff
The Persons with Disabilities Bill is still in its initial stages of the select committee. On November 26, last the Bill was debated and passed in Parliament, but Health Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who had tabled the bill, requested that it be sent to a select committee, in keeping with a promise he made to persons living with disabilities in Guyana.
Minister Ramsammy told Kaieteur News, yesterday, that Parliament only recently named the members of the select committee, who are expected to meet some time soon in order to select a chairman of the committee.
The chairman is expected to be Minister Ramsammy. The Health Minister explained that the select committee is expected to have only two meetings, as he does not foresee any major changes in the Bill.
Dr. Ramsammy noted that the Bill has already been read twice in Parliament, which means that it has already been passed, and thus no major changes can be made in the Bill.
However, the Health Minister expects that the Bill will be back in Parliament in early January 2010 so that it can be read for the third time and then made into law.
The Bill is designed to provide certain rights to persons with disabilities, including the promotion, protection and full equal enjoyment of those rights.
It also intends to facilitate the enforcement of the rights and eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability even as it serves to provide for the welfare and rehabilitation for such persons.
Government intends to spend a total of $20 million to purchase a special bus, which will be adequately equipped to transport persons living with disabilities.
At present there is no vehicle in Guyana that is properly equipped to transport the differently-abled. Tenders are already out for the procurement of such a bus, which is expected to be purchased within the next three months.
The Bill will not only lead to the removal of the physical barriers in the National Assembly, but in all buildings that are meant for public access, including the schools, hospitals, health centres and the various Ministries.
Although persons with disabilities are denied certain rights, the passage of the bill will not correct the situation overnight. However, the passage of the Bill begins the process of change.
A section of the Bill ensures that there is a barrier-free environment for persons with disabilities so that there is free access to public and private buildings and it also mandates the Central Housing Authority to publish guidelines and building codes within five years and to enforce it.
The Bill also addresses the ability of disabled persons to drive and to have access to public transportation.
The census of 2002 revealed that seven per cent of Guyana’s population is disabled. But according to Minister Ramsammy, the census only counted with significant disabilities. However, it showed that people in their definition of disability amounted to approximately 50,000 persons.
Of that number 20,000 live in Region Four; 8,000 in Region Six; 6,000 in Region Three, 4,000 in Regions Two and Five; and 3,000 in Region Ten.
According to Dr. Ramsammy, just over 12 per cent of these persons are below the age of 15 years old, which means that there are 8,000 children that are living with disabilities.
In this regard, in order to have a more accurate figure on the amount of persons living with disabilities, the legislation provides for the registration of persons with disabilities through the already established National Commission on Disabilities.

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Disability bill still in committee

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