Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma says government will consider the location of the Disability Unit within the Presidency.
Currently, the unit is under the Department of Social Development, but members of the Disabled People South Africa have accused the department of not doing enough to address their plight.
“We have noted the issue of the location in particular and the Working Group will consider the matter and respond in due course,” said President Zuma on Thursday, during the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Working Group on Disability.
The meeting was chaired by President Zuma and received presentations by the South African Disability Alliance, the Disabled People South Africa and the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Michael Masutha.
The meeting agreed that the working group should meet more frequently to discuss sufficiently all the issues raised by this critical sector of South African society.
Earlier on Thursday, President Zuma officially opened the National Disability Rights Summit, which is held under the theme ‘Unified in diversity and disability, together advancing people's power’.
President Zuma told the summit that government is aiming to ensure that children with disabilities are accommodated in their local schools by 2021. This is part of government’s plan to ensure the integration of children with disabilities in society.
“Our goal as government is to ensure that by 2021, no children with disabilities will be out of school. They should all be able to attend their local schools and receive the necessary support.”
President Zuma said more than 6 850 students with disabilities have been enrolled at higher education institutions, and that over 2 800 have been enrolled at technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in 2014.
The President also said more needs to be done to ensure that deaf South Africans are able to access information and communication. Government introduced the South African Sign Language curriculum at school level from January 2015.
Deaf South Africans continue to experience high levels of marginalisation and exclusion due to a general lack of understanding, lack of South African Sign Language proficiency, and the availability of and expense associated with professional sign language interpreter services. This limits the social participation and integration of deaf persons.
The disability sector has previously put forward that one way of addressing this marginalisation is having South African Sign Language recognised as an official language in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
The Department of Social Development has committed to working with Parliament, national, provincial and local government institutions, as well as Chapter 9 institutions and organisations representing deaf and hard-of-hearing people, for the full implementation of Articles 9 and 21 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The articles pertains to giving equal access to communication and information to deaf and hard-of-hearing people through the recognition of sign language and availability of appropriate technology.
The National Disability Rights Summit, which enters day two today, is hosted by the Department of Social Development to analyse and convert the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into realisable outcomes through practical implementation. - SAnews.gov.za
