happiness Chikwanha
Tendai Gukutikwa Post Reporter
THERE is need to embrace and mainstream disability to make sure that people with disabilities are included in everything, a Government official has said.
Speaking on behalf of the Special Advisor on Disability Issues in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Honourable Joshua Teke Malinga, a director in the same office, Mr Macnon Chirinzepi said this will ensure that no one is left behind as the country moves towards attaining an empowered middle income economy.
Mr Chirinzepi said this while handing over wheelchairs to 10 people with disabilities in Mutare recently.
The move was made possible by President Mnangagwa’s donation of 130 wheelchairs during the recently-held Zimbabwe National Disability Expo.
From the 130 wheelchairs, each province received a portion. Harare, Bulawayo and Mashonaland East each received 20 wheelchairs, while the rest of the provinces received 10 wheelchairs each.
Mr Chirinzepi: “The country is moving away from a retrogressive charity model to a social model where disability is concrened.
‘‘We need to make sure that people with disabilities are included in everything that is planned and implemented.
“For total emancipation of people with disabilities and for them to be self-reliant, we need to implement what is in our statutes,” he said.
Mr Chirinzepi said the country adopted the United Nations Convention on people with disabilities as the National Disability Policy in June 2021.
“The policy caters for the rights of people with disabilities. This has been further localised in an Act for people with disabilities. We reviewed the Disabled Persons Act and made sure that we now have a law that walks the talk,” said Mr Chirinzepi.
“Whenever we construct houses as stated in our National Development Strategy (NDS1), let us make sure that they are accessible to people with disabilities.
“Even the media, we have to make sure that it is accessible to persons with disabilities, hence we are looking at the use of Braille, Sign Language and others that ensure that people with disabilities have access to the media.
“Section 6 of the national Constitution indicates that Sign Language is one of our 16 national languages. We encourage all public platforms to embrace Sign Language. Let us make sure that wherever we meet, we also cater for everyone. By doing this, we leave no one behind as the country moves towards attaining Vision 2030,” he said.
A beneficiary, Mr Elliot Muchuweni of Buhera, thanked President Mnangagwa for the wheelchair.
He said the donation will go a long way in guaranteeing, not only his mobility, but also his capacity to take care of his family.
“Thank you so much for this. I was injured many years ago but I did not have a wheelchair to take me from Point A to Point B. As a result, earning a living and taking care of my family had become a big challenge.
“In fact, I had to rely solely on my family to take me even to the toilet. I felt like a burden. This wheelchair empowers me to take care of myself,” he said
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