Pretoria – A new policy, which is still in the pipeline, is expected to hold accountable those who do not uphold the rights of people with disabilities.
Cabinet is expected to approve the new policy called the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Once approved, everybody in the value chain will be held accountable.
“We will be holding everybody accountable in the value chain, from the architects who design (inaccessible) buildings, to the town planners who pass the building plans, to the project managers who supervise construction.
“We are going to hold accountable [medical staff] who do not ensure that mothers who give birth to disabled child have the right information (because government) has made the information accessible… (We are going to hold accountable) social workers who do not follow up on the mothers when they leave the hospital.
“The human resource manager who doesn’t meet the 2% (employment target) will also be held accountable. We are no longer going to be asking people why… We are going to… hold them accountable,” said Social Development Deputy Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu.
On Thursday, South Africa joined the world in celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The main event was held at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
The day coincided with the end of the National Disability Rights Awareness Month, which is celebrated between 3 November and 3 December.
The Deputy Minister said while the policy framework is in place to protect the rights of people with disabilities, there was still a huge challenge in societal attitudes and outlook towards disability.
“There’s nothing more painful than getting into public transport and not being greeted by anybody and everybody is just staring at you, and you wheel yourself into a building and you are not even welcomed.
“That is the biggest discrimination that will require South Africans to dig deeper into their hearts and souls and begin to grant people with disabilities the same status that they want to be given,” the Deputy Minister said.
She said the Department of Social Development has done a lot to consolidate the disability agenda. However, she acknowledged that they could do better and need to up the pace.
“Today, all children with disabilities have the right to demand an education and if this is refused, their parents can claim recourse. Enrolment figures for children with disabilities have improved significantly.
“However, we acknowledge that too many children with disabilities remain out of school and too many children with disabilities do not have access to adequate support in school.”
Another notable achievement is that the majority of universities have established disability support units and programmes to assist students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodation support.
Entrepreneurs with disabilities, who own small enterprises, can access funding through the Industrial Development Corporation.
Bruno Druchen from the South African Disability Alliance said the organisation is looking forward to the approval of the white paper and thanked the department for its support.
“We are waiting for the white paper to be approved so that we will have access to education. Thank you for recognising the 2% target but we will make sure that all government departments reach the target,” said Druchen. – SAnews.gov.za
