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Obey Sibanda
THE Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare will soon table a Bill in Parliament that aims to ensure involvement of people living with disabilities in all sectors of the economy.

Special Advisor to the President on Disability Issues Dr Joshua Malinga said during his tour of King George VI Centre in Bulawayo on Tuesday that the proposed law is anchored on the fact that a person living with disability is a human being with the same interests and aspirations as everyone else. It would also enable those with disability in all age groups receive grants every month.

Dr Malinga said people living with disabilities are a “forgotten tribe” since they are excluded from the system. He said they are not part of community service development and are excluded from education system but are part of a system called charity whose preference is that they do things for the disabled since they are not treated as full human beings.

He said disability is a condition that many people do not understand. “There should be a paramount shift on how disabled people must be treated. People leaving with disability, their condition is not a problem.

The problem is how people treat them, the attitude and exclusion from all systems that prevent them from enjoying life like any other people,” said Dr Malinga.

He said the implementation of the law would ensure people living with disabilities are included economically, socially and politically in society.

During the tour Dr Malinga donated sanitisers to pupils who are writing examinations and staff at King George V1 Centre.

King George V1 Centre’s headmistress Ms Perseverance Hadebe said they were humbled by Dr Malinga’s visit, the donations and him encouraging them to celebrate disability.

“People think that we are dirty and we know nothing but we want to prove them that we are classy and brilliant,” she said.

Ms Hadebe implored the Government to include people living with disability when implementing school programmes. She said radio lessons did not work out for hearing impaired pupils at the school.

She said the school used social media applications such as WhatsApp to teach students during lockdown but some pupils do not own smart phones and others are not able to operate them.

To complement WhatsApp the school produced hard copies and recorded video lessons which were shared with pupils who are hearing impaired nationwide via YouTube.

“We were discriminated against big time. How can a deaf student listen to a radio? We appreciate that other learners were catered for. We feel they could have had a meeting with us from the onset, we were going to record DVD lessons for our pupils,” said Ms Hadebe.

Ms Hadebe said the donation was appreciated since it enabled each pupil to own special portable sanitisers.

She asked other well-wishers to chip in.

“We still need more sanitisers for other staff members and other age groups which are not here. We also need face masks for children who are drooling and need to change face masks three to four times a day,” she said.