Persons with disabilities have met at the ninth General Assembly of the Inclusive Society for Persons with Disabilities to discuss ways of improving on the plight of handicapped persons.

Focus during this General Assembly was on the need for disabled persons to contribute in nation-building through the creation of an accessible environment.

The Minister of Social Affairs, Pauline Irene Nguene opened the meeting during which she reiterated Government’s commitment to support these vulnerable set of people.

The Minister mentioned the existence of texts and decrees protecting handicapped persons and emphasised on the Prime Ministerial Order calling for the inclusion of facilities like tramways in all public buildings and spaces to ease the circulation of persons with disabilities. Project managers have however, not always respected this order.

Apart from equal access to buildings, the President of the Union des Francophones Aveugles, Paul Tezanou called on handicapped persons to register in electoral lists and be elected into posts of responsibility.

At the end of the conclave, recommendations will be made and tabled to competent authorities for the drafting and implementation of more strategies to make the environment friendly to both the social and physical needs of persons with disabilities.