adminWalter Mswazie, Masvingo Correspondent
PEOPLE living with disability in Masvingo have called for 70 percent representation in the national disability board set by Government.
Speaking during a disabled persons Act alignment consultation meeting at Victoria Junior in Masvingo on Friday, representatives of people living with disability organisations said their concerns were not heard because of ineffective representation at national level.
They said the board should have a director living with disability to ensure that their issues are taken seriously and implemented.
Zimbabwe Association of the Visually Handicapped (ZAVH) programme manager Ms Nyunyutai Mudzingwa said people with disability suffer a lot of discrimination and are not included in matters that involve them.
She said when aligning the disabled persons Act with the new Constitution, there is need to spell out the rights of people living with disability as opposed to treat disability as a peripheral issue.
Ms Mudzingwa also called on the Act to observe the need to wean people living with disability from the charitable model where they are taken only as dependent on handouts.
“We want the Act to be changed into people living with the disability Act. We want our national disability board to be empowered to be like a commission that implements things. We want access to the environment. We want self representation so that people do not discuss our issues in our absence. We call for 70 percent representation in the board,” said Ms Mudzingwa.
She said all buildings and companies in Zimbabwe should have accessible formats with structures being use-friendly to all people living with disability.
“Nothing can be about us without us. You cannot celebrate your child’s birthday when the child is not there,” she said.
She said the Act should be explicitly clear on the penalty that a person who discriminates against people with disability.
Speaking on the sidelines Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs acting director Ms Netsai Zvakasikwa said they are moving around the country consulting stakeholders and common issues raised are to do with rights and representation in the national disability board.
She said Masvingo has been on top pertaining the issues of representation in the national board noting that participants came strongly on the issue.
“We are holding consultations with stakeholders so that they say what they feel should be enshrined in the constitution. From the consultations we have held so far, say in Chipinge, they raised issues on marriage rights, education rights, abuse of children who are mentally challenged. They also talked about food for work programmes that help rural people yet people in urban areas have the same problem of food security,” said Ms Zvasikwa.
She also said the most prominent issues raised were to do with accessibility to all physical structures.
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