As political parties move ahead with screening of candidates for local government elections scheduled for October, a call is being made for disabled people to be included on their slates.
The call came from manager of the Blind Welfare Association Deonarine Ragoo, who served as a councillor for Reform/Manahambre in the Princes Town Regional Corporation in 2010.
Ragoo, who is visually impaired, said too often disabled people are bypassed for political consideration.
He urged both the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) and the United National Congress (UNC) to be more inclusive. Ragoo said more than 100,000 people in T&T are disabled so there was a need to have this group included in the political line-up.
“We are citizens too and we have a Constitution which guarantees fundamental human rights to be involved in politics. We should have equal opportunity to be part of the politics in T&T,” Ragoo said.
He said that if the major parties become more inclusive of the disabled on their political slates, then this would signal to the society that the parties are serious about inclusion.
“This will go a long way in demonstrating the commitment of parties to ensuring that the rights of all citizens and the political rights of persons with disabilities are acknowledged,” Ragoo said.
Ragoo also called on the political parties to ensure that every regional corporation be equipped with proper facilities for disabled people.
“I am also calling on the Ministry of Local Government to ensure that all the corporation offices are accessible to accommodate persons with disabilities who may be serving as councillors or aldermen,” Ragoo said.
“Staff should also be sensitised to work with people who are disabled to ensure that the person can function effectively.”
Ragoo also called on members of the public to learn sign language to assist disabled people, adding, “if political parties make a greater effort to afford opportunities to the disabled, then more disabled people will enter politics.”