Chronicle Editor
Hazel Marimbiza, Chronicle Reporter
ORGANISATIONS that deal with disability issues in Zimbabwe have urged Government to ratify the Africa Disability Protocol (ADP) to promote the rights of all persons living with disabilities (PWDs) in all facets of their lives, including education and health.
Zimbabwe is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRDP), which has a three-tier disability regime comprising the blind, the deaf and the physically-challenged.
Addressing a workshop on the need to ratify the protocol in Bulawayo recently, Zimbabwe Down Syndrome Association (ZDSA) National Coordinator, Ms Sibonisiwe Mazula said the UNCRDP is alien to the African region. She said the UNCRDP is Eurocentric to the exclusion of a wider view of the world, thus there is need to ratify the ADP that is designed specifically for the African region.
“We want a policy which is not segregatory. The UNCRDP is Eurocentric. For instance, the issue of albinism is not synonymous to them. Also, in Zimbabwe and other African countries children born with Down syndrome are perceived to be a curse brought upon by ancestors and therefore need to be thrown into rivers or hidden from society. If we have the African protocol ratified then we will have something which is in the African context because in Africa we have traditions and cultures which we abide by so that’s why this protocol most appeals to us,” she said.
Ms Mazula said if Zimbabwe is to move towards a disability inclusive and barrier free society by 2030, ratifying the ADP will show its commitment. Provisions of the ADP include promotion of equal recognition at law, respect for inherent dignity and giving the right to live in the community.
National Secretary of the National Council of Disabled Persons of Zimbabwe Organisations, Mr Leonard Marange said if the ADP is ratified it will then be possible to lobby Government to repeal some sections of the Constitution.
“The Constitution of Zimbabwe spares the Government of its responsibly to adequately channel resources to PWD’s as it indicates that Government can only do so when it has adequate resources. I view that as improper because resources will never be enough,” said Mr Marange.
Mr Bonlam Machiha, a ZDSA youth representative said ratifying the protocol would ensure that more people living with disabilities occupy positions of authority.
“Most people who represent PWD’s are not disabled so you find that most times after acquiring funds for PWD’s they pocket it.
“They would rarely do that if they were also disabled so it’s important to have more PWD’s speaking for their counterparts,” said Mr Machiha.
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