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Cde Joshua Malinga

Walter Mswazie, Masvingo Correspondent
THE rights of people living with disabilities are not sufficiently respected and this should be corrected, Zanu-PF secretary for people living with disabilities Cde Joshua Malinga said yesterday.

Speaking at the 2017 Disability Expo at the Civic Centre in Masvingo, Cde Malinga said the Constitution of Zimbabwe does not explicitly recognise the rights of people living with disabilities, but the rights of children and other groups are clearly spelt out.

He said under the supreme law, respect of the rights of people living with disabilities is conditional and not fundamental.

“If we look at our new constitution the rights of children, youths, elderly persons and war veterans are clearly spelt out without attaching a condition to them. However, when it comes to our rights-the rights of people living with disabilities, the State or Government is attaching a condition of the availability of resources,” said Cde Malinga at the expo which started on Wednesday and ended yesterday.  It was held under the theme, “From Policy to Progress.”
Chapter 2, Section 22(2) of the constitution says: “The State and all institutions and agencies of Government at every level must, within the limits of resources available to them, assist persons with physical or mental disability to achieve their full potential and to minimise the disadvantage suffered by them.”

Cde Malinga said it should be Government’s duty to observe the rights of people living with disabilities irrespective of the unavailability of resources.
He said society is responsible for the definition of disability because it is people who build inaccessible buildings for other groups of people.

“Disability is the relationship between you and the environment. I am not disabled but impaired. People build inaccessible buildings that we cannot reach and it should be the person who erected that building who is disabled not me. It is the society which is responsible for the creation of the term disability yet ours is a condition,” said Cde Malinga.

He said people are born differently with different conditions and possess different skills that should be respected.

“Disability is a condition. People are born differently  — one is beautiful while the other is ugly, one is tall while the other is short. We cannot all look the same, disability is a form of diversity on condition. If I am impaired it does not mean that I am incapable of doing anything but the problem is that people define society without thinking of me. That makes me a disabled person,” he said.

“There are social, economic and educational barriers that society creates to render impaired people disabled and that should be attended to. It is the human attitude towards people with disability that incapacitate them.”

Masvingo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Cde Shuvai Mahofa, Provincial Administrator Mr Fungai Mbetsa, among others attended the expo. —  @walterbmswazie3