Dear Editor,
The Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities
(GCOPD) wishes to congratulate the Government of Guyana for comprehensively addressing the needs of the disability community in the 2021 national budget.
GCOPD acknowledges the inclusion of a specific category in the senior minister within the Office of the
President with responsibility for finance Dr. Ashni Singh’s budget presentation, in which the measures for the disability community were highlighted. We are optimistic that the measures highlighted would
significantly improve the lives of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) across Guyana.
GCOPD wishes to highlight the increase in budgetary allocation to the Department of Disability and Rehabilitation Services, for the fulfillment of the contents of the Guyana PWD Act. We also note the
allocation of one hundred and twenty million dollars ($120,000,000) as a special disability fund and the thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) allocation for the establishment of a training centre in Mahaica for
PWDs. We also highlight the increase of the monthly “Public Assistance” grant from nine thousand dollars ($9,000) to twelve thousand dollars ($12,000).
It must be noted that approximately seventhousand (7,000) PWDs are beneficiaries of this grant. Further, we recognize that budgetary allocations were made to address vocational skills training for PWDs through the Ministry of Labour’s Board of Industrial Training and allocations to the Ministry of Education to address Special Education Needs (SEN) within the public education system. We are also pleased that the government has pledged to review the Guyana PWD Act to ensure the articles are relevant and in sync with the current needs of the disability community.
We recognize and acknowledge the efforts of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic government to fulfill their Elections Manifesto promise to the disability community. We are pleased that our persistent
advocacy has resulted in positive outcomes, and that aspects of our “GCOPD Disability Manifesto” are being fulfilled. We also note that productive meetings with the current Ministers have led to the
placement of Disability on the agenda for their respective Ministries.
We do look forward to a productive and continued partnership with the government as we work to promote and fulfill the rights of PWDs.
Yours faithfully,
Ganesh Singh
Programme Coordinator, GCOPD