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Walter Mswazie, Masvingo Correspondent
PEOPLE with disabilities have called on the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) to involve them in its outreach programmes, as they were also victims of conflicts that occurred in the country.
Speaking during a NPRC stakeholders meeting in Masvingo last week, Zimbabwe Association of the Visually Handicapped Masvingo provincial officer Mr Timothy Mudarikwa said many national programmes were leaving out people with disabilities, yet they constituted a bigger constituency in the country.
He said people with disabilities constitute nearly 10 percent of the country’s population, hence the need to include them in most national programmes.
“Some of our members were injured during the liberation struggle, some got injured after independence.
“We have suffered irreparable injuries and we deserve to be involved in such programmes so that our concerns are addressed.
“It is our hope that the NPRC will also include one of us in the committee. Our concerns can only be appreciated by a person who is in the same predicament,” he said.
Mr Mudarikwa said concerns raised by people with disabilities were rarely addressed.
He added that people with disabilities were victims of socio-economic exclusion and appealed to families not to hide their disabled relatives, especially in rural areas.
Mr Mudarikwa said although the country has recorded more than 90 percent literacy rate, out of the two million people with disabilities, only 10 percent were literate. This, he said, was due to limited access to education for people living with disabilities.
In an interview after the meeting, NPRC vice- chairperson Commissioner Lillian Chigwedere praised the people of Masvingo for attending the consultative meeting in their numbers and speaking openly without fear. She said the people opened up on incidents of violence which occurred in their communities.
“We are happy as NPRC with the way people of Masvingo have responded. We were like people who came with an empty sack but we are now going back with a full sack.
“The most dominant issues in Masvingo were to do with conflict. We have heard people talking about their houses being burnt during conflict time.
“We are taking back these contributions which we will collate with others from other provinces, in preparation for the national dialogue, expected by the end of the month,” she said.-@walterbmswazie 3
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