All protocols observed
The democratic government has acknowledged various sectors of our society that require special attention to ensure that they receive equal access to a wide range of opportunities that our communities and country offer to all its citizens.
Since the advent of this democratic dispensation, the focus has been to address the racial based socio-economic disparities partly because the inequities we have experienced during the apartheid government were vividly legislated. There was no subtleness in the manner black people were treated compared to their other fellow compatriots from other racial groups.
However, our approach as the new government has been to address all forms of discrimination beyond racial expressions, including practices that appear to cut across multiple social divides such as gender, age and disability. In most government programmes we have had designated groups that have been prioritised for the promotion of equitable access to opportunities, especially socio-economic advantages. Besides black communities that have been targeted for economic empowerment through Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE)and other affirmative action initiatives, we identified amongst others women, youth and people with disabilities while covering the aged and children under the pension and social grant systems.
In the past, matters relating to the empowerment and protection of women, children and disabled people were not getting adequate support as they were peripherally aligned to different departments that in turn had their own core functions either than critical socio-economic responsibilities to these vulnerable groups. At some stage the Presidency and Premiers’ offices at provincial level housed these functions and the latter is still handling this area of responsibility.
However, considering the extent of the challenges on the ground which are exacerbated by amongst other things the economic patterns in our country and as well as the general population profile, it has become apparent that we have to re-align our strategies to be able to effectively and efficiently respond to the challenges experienced by these social groupings.
The impact of government’s contribution towards the development and freedom of women, children and disabled people requires constant attention and evaluation to ensure that the benefits of a democratic order are equitably distributed and thus experienced by all citizens regardless of their background, social standing or living conditions. We have therefore acknowledged the need to elevate the status of women, children and people with disabilities through the creation of a fully fledged government portfolio that addresses the legislative, policy and operational issues relating to these prioritised groups of our society. This could not be achieved in isolation from the participation by the rest of the government machinery as well as the role of the private sector in its endeavors to meet corporate social responsibility mandates.
The empowerment and the protection of disabled people for instance can no longer be defined and reduced to a social welfare or health care matter, but has become a collective responsibility that requires a holistic and synergic approach in which all sister departments participate and collectively seek to identify multiple solutions to its complexities and breadth of expressed needs. This shift has also been enhanced by the attitude of our fellow compatriots with disabilities who have continuously made their voices heard, not in terms of begging government to provide social security for them, but also in their determination to seize opportunities in various forms of initiatives that are designed to advance (amongst other things) their access to education or their closer participation in the mainstream economy, doing things by themselves.
It has been encouraging to witness people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups moving away from the usual sad phenomenon where they 'traditionally' see themselves as victims of natural and social injustices – pitiful objects that society has to feel sorry for them. It is this negative attitude that eventually entrenches a culture of perennial dependency on government social support.
In this country and this province in particular, we are pleased that we have people with disabilities that are brave enough to challenge their situation and raise their voices to seek assistance towards addressing their socio-economic challenges through their own designed, carefully planned and clearly articulated initiatives. This gathering is the testimony to the amazing 'spirit of human endeavor' to rise above all odds and claim its space and home in the beautiful plains of life and society.
As government we have both legislative and moral responsibility to respond positively to the calls by our disabled countrymen and women when they say they 'are prepared to overcome their diverse forms of limitations to play an active role in the province’s economy. This is a critical stand to take in addressing and eradicating poverty and levels of unemployment – two factors that plague people with disabilities more than other groups in our unequal society.
Again, the presence of several government departments here today and their participation in this Disability Economic Empowerment Programme (DEEP) exhibition is a loud declaration and bold demonstration of our commitment as government to the real empowerment and protection of people with disabilities. Our position is based on our understanding that their ambitions in life can be effectively addressed if we all project our collective and complementary position in the multiple processes of service delivery. The same can be said with regard to the private sector that has resources and skills to pass to people with disabilities for their betterment. Under the auspices of our established publicprivate-partnerships we have to work together in tackling matters associated with disabled people. We are also mindful of the fact that we are expected and obliged to comply with the law in the process of prioritising people with disabilities when we embark on processes including staff recruitment, promotion and as well as general affirmative procurement services in our various organisations.
We are aware that people with disabilities are still treated with discriminatory attitude in all aspects of their lives and this becomes more evident in the workplace where it is alleged that even adequately qualified and skilled people with disabilities are not given opportunities due to our preconceived and deeply entrenched stereotypes about this group.
Their disadvantaged situation is further aggravated by the physical conditions of our work stations which hardly take into account the needs of the disabled people. Have we really opened our eyes and ears in search of the level of competencies and skills that could be offered to our workplaces and societies by the diverse experiences of people with disabilities?
There are a number of mental barriers and socially constructed hindrances that we ought to delete from our psyches if we are ever to give a chance to the advancement of vulnerable groups in our communities. It is our collective challenge to interrogate our organisational mindset until it is completely devoid of social prejudices and misconceptions we hold about 'different' sections of our population. Gatherings like this DEEP Expo today offer all of us a solid foundation on which to build new relationships that help bridge the divide that pits 'normal' and 'abnormal', able and disabled, capable and 'incapable', empowered and disempowered – black and white, young and old against one another.
This relationship should be long-term and constantly revisited so as to be sustained. Leaving people with disabilities to their own vices has proven to be cruel and useless. Lack of action on our part as a society has 'killed' many people with disabilities and thrust them into the belly of the beast of poverty and disenfranchisement. We all need to rise to the occasion and contribute our best effort in building an equitable society that seeks to integrate people with disabilities as capable partners in our common evolution as mankind. There will always be questions that call on us to give genuine answers truthfully. History will always judge us for things past and the future is staring at us. Will our 'noble interventions' in the form of passed legislation and policies on disability empowerment pale out to nonentity – or will it all define us as a brave generation that walked its talk? Did we truly design and align our strategic disability empowerment initiatives to national priorities as paused by our various development policies? Did we ensure or forget that we implemented systems that achieved and produced tangible and visible results in the manner that addressed the appropriate empowerment of our disabled brothers and sisters effectively and meaningfully?
As I have stated above, perhaps the first move towards this 'ideal world of equality' would be to change the way we treat and approach disability as a social phenomenon. With more meanings attached to disability and the allied stigma associated with this, it is essential that we start by understanding what 'disability' implies (or means). What really is disability or a ability? Does 'disabled' or 'disability' mean incapable, incompetent, useless, invalid, handicapped, crippled or 'not equal'? I am saying this because in my life I have personally come across many people who are regarded as being 'disabled', but who are out there living their lives and in the process achieving wonders – outperforming most of their able–bodied counterparts and leaving an indelible mark in the tides of our times as a developing people and society. It is in interrogating the terms and language that we have accorded to our diverse circumstances and realities that we will start finding ways to respond to people declared to be in social categories separate from our own.
This is why we all ought to come together and celebrate events like this Disability Economic Empowerment Programme Expo. We need to praise all people with disabilities and their organisations present here today for affording us this opportunity to sit and listen, learn and improve – understand and be understood. This is an opportunity not to miss, as it opens avenues for us to meet people with disabilities first hand and to share in their diverse needs, talents, innovations and experiences openly. In this way we can only get to find ways towards building roads, ramps and bridges that connect us. People with disabilities need this Expo and many other development opportunities that can be availed towards their empowerment. We all need to come out of here today understanding that people with disabilities can also enjoy fulfilled lifestyles if we all committed to:
- Accessing Employment Opportunities for people with disabilities particularly unemployed graduates
- Opening Entrepreneurial Opportunities for people with disabilities where potential ventures are identified and brought on board so that skills training and transfer are done on a demand-and-supply basis (formation of cooperatives will be encouraged)
- Maximising Skills Development for people with disabilities that have not accessed formal education so as to foster a sense of real independence and qualification that enables them to go out and find their own opportunities and areas of expertise where they can practice those acquired skills
- Engaging both the Public and Private Sector institutions towards Ensuring Compliance to Policy and Integration of people with disabilities into their mainstream programmes and development initiatives.
The economic intervention is an important form of attempting to reduce the scale of what people perceive as a disability. Someone in a wheelchair or crutches that is capable of taking care of themselves and meet their family's needs is not different from a so called 'able' person. In other words, the economic empowerment of people with disabilities can be described as yet another remedial measure towards alleviating world disabilities. We therefore have a collective obligation of distigmatising disability. We need to establish positive ways that can motivate people not to be suppressed by their perceived disabilities.
The Disability Economic Empowerment Programme (DEEP) is a revelation by our so called disable people who are telling the world that we might have limitations, but are still capable of playing a vital role in the country and province’s economy. They are saying to us that they are not going to be judged by the way they differ in appearance from the majority of the population, but by their solid contribution to their society's advancement as equal citizens.
