By Amos Harris
Samuel Dean, the suspended Executive Director of the National Commission on Disabilities (NCD), has sharply criticized the organizers of a major infrastructure conference held in Nimba County, accusing them of deliberately excluding Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) from discussions critical to Liberia’s development future.
The conference, which brought together policymakers and key stakeholders to deliberate on national infrastructure planning, reportedly proceeded without any representation from the disability community despite PWDs accounting for an estimated 20 percent of Liberia’s population.
Dean described the omission as “deeply troubling” and emblematic of a persistent pattern of marginalization of persons living with disabilities in national decision-making processes.
Speaking to journalists in Monrovia on January 20, 2026, Dean said the exclusion directly contradicts Liberia’s international and domestic commitments, particularly under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which the country is a signatory.
He argued that denying PWDs a voice on issues of national concern undermines both their rights and the credibility of Liberia’s development agenda.
Dean further warned that infrastructure planning carried out without disability perspectives inevitably results in public facilities that are inaccessible and discriminatory.
He cited the widespread absence of ramps, elevators, disability-friendly restrooms, and clear signage in public buildings across the country as evidence of long-standing neglect by planners and policymakers.
According to Dean, he formally sought participation in the Nimba conference, offering technical expertise and advocacy on behalf of persons with disabilities, but was not included.
He maintained that his suspension from office does not deprive him of his constitutional right to speak out or to advocate for the welfare and rights of PWDs.
The exclusion, he noted, has reignited concerns among disability rights advocates that national development forums continue to treat PWDs as an afterthought rather than as equal stakeholders.
Dean questioned how genuinely inclusive Liberia’s infrastructure agenda can be when a significant segment of the population is consistently left out of critical national conversations.
