Putting decision into action: the Disability Act of Ghana. Six years down the line.

Abstract

The study was conducted to explore how far implementation of the Ghana Disability Act has gone and some factors affecting its implementation. Using the qualitative method of case study, officials from the secretariat of the NCPD and some disabled members of the GFD were purposively chosen and conveniently sampled for the study. Theoretical perspectives of Hyden, Van Meter and Van Horn, as well as the Third generation of implementation scholars were employed to guide the research. With the use of semi-structured questionnaires based on four chosen sections of the Act and on the five Independent variables for the study, interviews and focused-group discussions were conducted with the subjects. Analysis of the data gathered depicted delay in the implementation process and some factors found to be influencing this delay were: negative perceptions of the society regarding the disabled; the structure of the implementation body; lack of commitment to the disability situation; and the incomplete attributes of the Act itself. Change of government, however, did not have any significant effect on the implementation.