NEWS STORY
2nd
March, 2021
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), in collaboration with the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, has developed a Disability Policy that has come into effect.
The Policy “applies to persons with disabilities entering or already working in the Commission, including any person or persons who may acquire any form of disability or impairment in the course of employment.”
The Commissioner of the ACC, Francis Ben Kaifala Esq., said development of the policy started in 2020, and the policy was validated and put into full operation in January 2021.
“During the development of the policy, we consulted the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, non-governmental organisations implementing disabilities programmes, in a bid to make the Policy meet the required standards,” he averred.
The Director, Human Resource Department ACC, Mrs. Yatta M. Katta, stated that, the ACC took into consideration the provisions of the Persons with Disability Act 2011 of Sierra Leone, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD).
The Policy “recognises that persons with disabilities have the same rights and responsibilities as other members (non-disabled) including the right to access full and equal employment, realize their capacity for physical, social, emotional and intellectual development and the right to participate actively in decisions that affect their lives.”
The ACC has a number of staff living with disabilities, with one of them a holder of a Managerial position. The purpose of the Policy, therefore, is to “reaffirm the Commission’s commitment to fostering and supporting a diverse workforce and to integrate equal opportunity for persons with disabilities into the Commission’s policies, procedures, decisions and operations and to eliminate all sorts of barriers in the exercise of their full rights and abilities to participate in achieving the strategic goal of the Commission,” the Policy states.
Additionally, the Policy provides equal opportunities and treatments for able and disabled persons, especially in the areas of recruitment, accommodation, career development and learning, among others.
The ACC will internalize the Policy and also work with the relevant bodies to roll out the details of the Policy to the general public as a demonstration of the Commission’s commitment to adhering to instruments that relate to disability issues.