National Assembly member for Wuli West has praised a new bill that will protect the rights of people living with disabilities in The Gambia.

Sidia Jatta told lawmakers that people with disabilities have been neglected for too long. 

“We are seeing that for the last 25 years and the law [1997 Constitution] said we are all equal here and that we all have the same entitlements; but persons living with disabilities have been denied for the last 55 years. 

“So, this law [Disability Bill] we are making is different from all the laws we are making. This means that it has to be more comprehensive than anything else is,” Mr Jatta said.

“For the last 55 years even though this law existed, certain groups of people have been suffering,” he added.

Mr Jatta continued: “there is a need to make an inventory of all those people who matter here and classify them because they do not have the same need.

“Maybe how the report was presented here, but all that is being said here, everything about the report is from the stakeholders especially from the federation of persons with disabilities. 

“We invited the chairperson of the Federation who is from the Ministry of Justice. So, I am pleading with my colleagues to adopt this report with amendments and see how best we can go about it.” 

Reporting by Adama Makasuba