No joy for the disabled

either extreme of the thermometer, luring airtime users with her marketing strategies.

This kind of business is challenging as the city is now flooded with airtime vendors. Vulnerability, coupled with poverty gives her strength and the zeal to fulfil one great goal she has in mind: to live a decent lifestyle.

Unfortunately airtime business cannot make her realise her dreams in any way. The meagre profit of US10c per each dollar card of airtime sold means she must sell 500 airtime cards to earn US$5, hence she is living in abject poverty.

This situation has plunged Shupikai into a hand-to-mouth scenario.
She has got the right to decent accommodation, food, clothes and most importantly a descent lifestyle like many among us. Unfortunately the situation will not permit her or anyone like her to enjoy these basic needs.

Her major challenge is accommodation, as she cannot afford to acquire a housing stand or a house with the little money she earns. She is currently staying in a rented house that is not disability friendly and the landlord always gives her a hard time.

Shupikai managed to capture the attention of the media but there are many like her in our country.
Most of them are suffering in silence as they are deprived of their inalienable right to decent accommodation.

Seedy Chitsiwa who is wheelchair-bound said it is the Government’s obligation to ensure that there is adequate housing for people living with disabilities.
He further explained that it was made a policy to ensure that at least 10 out of 100 houses must be disability friendly.

“The missing link has been the implementation of these policies as they only appear on paper while not in practice. As people with disabilities we are financially vulnerable and when housing stands are availed the able boded will grab everything and there will be nothing left for us,” he said.

He added that people with disabilities need grants or free housing stands where they can develop properties that are disability friendly. He further lamented the issue of segregation currently being fuelled by landlords who cannot buy the idea of leasing their properties to people living with disabilities.

Seedy, however, lacks adequate information on the issue of 10 disability friendly houses per every 100 houses.

People with disabilities are being deprived of important information that is meant to empower them.
The able-bodied are deliberately preventing the flow of information to the targeted audience so as to take advantage of the ignorance resulting from lack of information.

Barbara Katonha currently residing at Leonard Cheshire Home for the disabled said women with disabilities living in rented houses are the most affected.

“It is impossible to find a house that is disability friendly because people do not construct ramps, slide doors, kitchens and toilets that are disability friendly.

“Some people with disabilities owing to their situation cannot perform household duties which does not go well with some landlords. Some are not comfortable with allocating duties to the disabled as it might be disapproved by the neighbours so the only way out is never to accept anyone with disabilities as a tenant,” she said.

She added that local authorities must make available adequate land for housing stands and give preference to people living with disabilities.

She, however, appealed to the concerned stakeholders to empower disabled people economically so that they will enjoy their right to descent accommodation.

If the situation goes unchecked the nation is likely to witness an emergency of squatter settlements, as it will be the only option for people living with disabilities.

The Executive Director of National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped Farai Gasa Mukuta said the organisation has engaged local authorities in Bulawayo, Mutare, Harare, Masvingo and Marondera so as to ensure wider coverage of the concerns of the disabled.

He added that they challenged city fathers to come up with policies that ensure adequate housing for the disabled.

“Masvingo has allocated 10 housing stands to the physically challenged. Unfortunately the major challenge is lack of enough capital to start developing those stands and the situation is set to reverse all the efforts,” he said.

Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe president and Masvingo Mayor, Alderman Femius Chakabuda said currently local authorities do not have a policy on housing stands for people living with disabilities.

He added that local authorities are being sensitised on the demands of people living with disabilities and a policy that ensures adequate housing stands for the disabled will be crafted.

“The policy will guide all housing programmes most importantly allocation of stands that will see people living with disabilities benefiting. The challenge currently facing local authorities is lack of funding and with adequate resources we will go a long way in addressing the concerns of the disabled,” he said.

He added that many housing co-operatives are being owned and controlled by private players hence the need to sensitise them on housing problems currently facing the disabled.

Last year some effort was put towards ensuring descent accommodation for the disabled and this has seen the creation of Mushawedu Housing Co-operative at Eastville, Caledonia Farm in Harare. A total of 200 families of disabled persons benefited from the scheme.

This great example must set trends towards total elimination of housing challenges among the disabled people.

In comparison with the neighbouring South Africa, Zimbabwe is legging behind in empowering people living with disabilities.

The South African constitution in (section 7 and 8) provides that the Government has the obligation to respect, to protect and to realise the right to adequate housing. This applies to the executive, legislative and judicial branches and to all levels of Government that is local, provincial and national.
International instruments also are not silent on the right to adequate housing as it appears in bold print.

The right to adequate housing was recognised for the first time at the international level in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In this declaration state parties proclaimed that: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” (Art 25)

In Zimbabwe the missing link has been the ratification of these international instruments into the constitution which is the supreme law of the land.

This coupled with poor implementation of policies makes people with disabilities a burden, yet when given the right platform they will prove that disability is not inability.
Concerned stakeholders have expressed concern on poor representation of people living with disabilities and pledged to widen coverage of the concerns of people living with disabilities.
They are set to lobby for the creation of a ministry that represents people living with disabilities.