As various government departments work around the clock to put final touches to the Medium-Term Development Plan (2024-2029), individuals and organisations representing persons with disabilities have called on government and the private sector to prioritise education and employment opportunities.
This, they say, is key to the realisation of the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in every aspect of South African life.
This emerged on Monday in Cape Town as the Deputy Minister of Social Development, Ganief Hendricks, officially handed over a report of public hearings to the Western Cape MEC of Social Development, Jaco Londt.
The ceremony was attended by over 90 people representing government and civil society organisations in the disability sector.
The report and the high-level action are a result of extensive consultations with individuals and organisations representing persons with disabilities during the development of the Draft Policy on Social Development Services to Persons with Disabilities.
The report argues strongly for government to invest in educational, capacity building, skills development, employment and funding opportunities for persons with disabilities. It further calls for the provision of and training on the use of assistive devices, including wheelchairs and hearing aids to ensure independent living.
The report is structured around the following province-specific thematic areas:
(i) mainstreaming, inclusivity and accessibility--establishment of municipal advice office to promote accessibility and inclusivity at local level.
(ii) education, capacity building, and skills development--scale up training programmes on assistive devices for persons with disabilities and caregivers.
(iii) employment and socio-economic empowerment--proposed tax rebates for assistive devices and financial support for families promoting accessibility.
(iv) social development support services, such as care and access to funding--consider introduction of differentiated disability grants and tailoring financial support to individual needs, ensuring equitable distribution.
The Deputy Minister quoted the 2022 census data, which estimates that there are 3.3 million persons with disabilities, which constitutes 7.5 % of the South African population.
"The 2022 census data underscore the fact that persons with disabilities are a large part of the South African families, communities and population.
"Many of us know someone with a disability, which makes it important for all of us to work together to build a caring and inclusive society that enables persons with disabilities to thrive and contribute to our society," the Deputy Minister said.
Hendricks added that the high-level action, which was presented as part of the report will be monitored regularly to ensure accountability and implementation by all provinces and key stakeholders.
Sharing her personal journey which drew applause and brought tears to many participants, a South African ability activist and the co-founder and global ambassador of The Chaeli Campaign and Chaeli Foundation SA, Chaeli Mycroft highlighted disability-related costs for individuals and families.
"Disability is very costly as there are significant additional costs faced by individuals and families caring and supporting persons with disabilities which are unfortunately currently not met by existing social grants.
"It is for this reason that persons with disabilities face enormous challenges in living independently and many are condemned to a life of poverty and social exclusion. It is for this reason that government must increase investment in education and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities," Mycroft said.
Mycroft has cerebral palsy and is well known in the disability sector for her activism which has earned her numerous global recognitions, including the International Children's Peace Prize (2011) and she was awarded the Peace Summit Medal for Social Activism on behalf of all Nobel Peace Laureates.
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She is the first female quadriplegic to summit Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the highest free-standing mountain in the world.
In true disability rights awareness style, the handover ceremony was officiated in sign language by Jabaar Mohamed, Western Cape Provincial Director of DeafSA. Last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa made sign language the 12th official language in South Africa.
This was the first of the nine that the Department of Social Development will be handing over to provinces across the country as part of the National Disability Rights Awareness Month, which is observed annually from 3 November-3 December.
The objective of this campaign is to educate the public about disability issues, take stock of progress and to celebrate the contributions of persons with disabilities in South Africa.
