The Coalition of Unemployed Tertiary Graduates with Disabilities has issued a one-month ultimatum to the Government of Ghana, demanding urgent action to address what it calls the systemic neglect of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the country’s workforce.

In a strongly worded press statement, the group said hundreds of graduates with disabilities have been left unemployed for over six years despite holding degrees in Education, Law, Administration, and Information Technology. “We have been educated for the shelf for too long,” the coalition stated.

According to the group, national statistics show that while PWDs make up approximately 8% of Ghana’s population, their unemployment rate in the formal sector is nearly double the national average. Only about 27% of PWDs of working age are gainfully employed, compared to over 56% of persons without disabilities.

The coalition cited international frameworks, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and Sustainable Development Goal 8, which call for inclusive labor markets. They also highlighted that Ghana’s Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) has not been fully implemented in terms of employment quotas.

The coalition welcomed President John Dramani Mahama’s pledge, made during the launch of the free tertiary education policy for PWDs, to enforce a 5% employment quota across public and private sector recruitment and incentivize companies hiring PWDs. However, the group said immediate action is necessary.

“We demand an immediate roadmap for the recruitment of the current backlog of unemployed tertiary-educated PWDs into the public sector,” the statement read.

“We demand the full implementation of employment quotas and an end to systemic recruitment barriers that favor able-bodied candidates.”

The coalition warned that failure to act within a month will lead to mass demonstrations across the country, with members mobilizing from all sixteen regions using wheelchairs, white canes, and crutches to protest at key government offices.

Convener Gilbert Boateng Agyare said the coalition has already attempted engagement with relevant ministries but has met with limited success. “The impediments in our path are too many, and we should no longer be marginalized,” he said.

The group called on the media and the general public to support their demands and hold the government accountable for ensuring an inclusive labour market for all Ghanaians.