Scores of people with disabilities have come out calling for better representation in Parliament, public office and political parties in addition for follow-ups and implementation of policies on disability inclusion.
Meeting in the capital Harare this morning, organisations representing people with disabilities said most PWDs felt left out of active political discourse and socio-economic development.
Senator Ishmael Zhou, who came into Parliament last November as one of the only two Members of Parliament representing PWDs, said the two seats in the Senate are not representative enough for the more than 1,6 million people in the population with disabilities.
Zhou says he has been having conversations with some colleagues in the House and has been told that this may need at a Constitutional amendment as the two seats are stipulated as such in the Constitution.
The Senator, who has impaired vision, said that since his election, he has been working to lobby other centres of influence to consider the concerns and pleas of his constituency.
Zhou represents men in the Upper House or Senate who are elected by organisations of PWDs for those two seats in the Parliament of Zimbabwe, out of the more that 210 constituencies nationwide.
Zimbabwe will not be a country that ensures inclusion and equality of opportunity if people with disabilities are discriminated against he says, calling for better budget allocation as the whole country is taken as one constituency when it comes to disability.
Some of the civil society organisations who attended the Access to Health Services workshop organized by the Poverty Reduction Forum Trust, agreed to the idea as they also felt two seats is too low a number to effectively make a difference.
Senator Nasper Manyau, the other MP representing women with disabilities in the august House, says there is no reason qualified and educated people with disabilities should be denied better representation in public office and political parties.
She stressed that more opportunities for those with disabilities would reduce or end the traditional belief that people with disabilities are not able to perform to the same level as those without disability in very spheres of life.
The senator, who uses a wheelchair, was in the construction of ramps at most public buildings to assist accessibility for most people with disabilities.
The government says it has taken note of the plight of people living with disabilities.
Dr Christine Peta, the director for disability affairs in the ministry of public service, social services, labour and of social welfare, said Zimbabwe considers the fight against all forms of social exclusions as one of its immediate priorities.
She said there is an ongoing engagement with non-governmental organisations and the government for social exclusion to end.
“Disability frameworks are only beginning to take shape,” she said, reminding the participants that her department is fairly new – having been created in 2018.
“Prior to this, disability had been pushed to the back burner but under the second republic this has changed,”
Dr Peta also disclosed that when it comes to sign language there has been recognition for standardization as there is “complete chaos” without a standard sign.
“So from May, we are going to have a meeting to have a Zimbabwe Sign Language Authority to bring order to this constituency,” she said.
“Once we have defined this, only then can we certify those doing what may not be up to the expected standard,” she said, explaining an incident she witnessed when she engaged one “sign interpreter” who left a lot to be desired! .
The United Nations proclaimed the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 1992 to mobilize support for the inclusion of persons with disabilities and promote awareness-raising about disability issues.
