Council for the Blind's 38th Biennial Conference Welcome Dinner, Greenway
Woods, Mpumalanga
17 October 2007
Programme director
Honourable Minister in the Presidency, Dr Essop Pahad
Honourable Chairperson of the South African National Council for the Blind,
Judge Zak Jacoob
Honorary President of South African National Council for the Blind and
President of the World Blind Union, Dr William Rowland
Conference delegates and presenters
Ladies and gentlemen:
I am heartened by the privilege accorded to me to address the 38th Biennial
Conference of the South African National Council for the Blind. This conference
is significant in deepening discussion, insight and commitment to help elevate
issues affecting persons with disabilities, and to place them on the national
development agenda.
Persons with disabilities continue to face barriers and challenges that
limit their participation as equal members of society. These artificial
barriers constitute gross violations of human rights to which persons with
disabilities are constitutionally entitled. As society, we have a
responsibility to ensure that persons with disabilities experience the full
enjoyment of rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination.
As we all know, the critical challenge is to ensure that we achieve full
inclusion of persons with disabilities in the social, cultural and economic
life of society so that they have opportunities to contribute to the growth and
development of society. To achieve this, it is important that sufficient
resources are made available to build institutional capacity that facilitates
the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of social life.
At policy level, progress has been made in ensuring that both the public and
private sectors facilitate the participation of persons with disabilities
through the provision of the physical environment conducive to the mobility and
participation of persons with disabilities. However, at the level of
implementation, a lot of work still needs to be done to ensure that our
buildings, roads, facilities, communication infrastructure and workplaces
comply with the access needs of persons with disabilities.
Access to public services that citizens enjoy remains one of the major
priorities of government. Information about government services should be
presented in formats accessible to persons with disabilities. In the case of
partially sighted and blind people, it is essential that information on
services, communication, speeches, and documents are made available in Braille
materials so that blind people who can read Braille can access the information
easily.
The benefits of advanced information technologies and systems should be made
available to disabled persons so that access to information is improved. To
facilitate access and social inclusion, it is crucial to make resources
available for providing quality mobility aids and assistive devices that
enhance mobility and the ability of persons with disabilities to live
independently.
One of the major impediments to access, self-development and empowerment
among persons with disabilities is illiteracy. Without proper literacy, it is
difficult for one to develop. Therefore, access to education at early stages of
development is essential. The implementation of inclusive education in
Mpumalanga is currently underway. However, the caveat is that inclusive schools
cannot be expected to succeed in delivering quality education if resources are
not provided to enhance the capabilities of these schools to cater for the
specific needs of learners with mental, intellectual, physical and sensory
disabilities.
Such capabilities include, among others, the availability of suitably
qualified educators to implement the curriculum that meets the needs of persons
with disabilities. Resource centres should be made available to support
learning and development through the provision of appropriate learning
infrastructure such as assistive devices and learning material presented in
accessible formats.
Programme director, poverty and deprivation is prevalent among persons with
disabilities and this situation is compounded by high levels of illiteracy and
low educational attainment occasioned by systemic exclusion. Without proper
education, the ability of persons with disabilities to access economic
opportunities is undermined. That is why government has set targets for the
economic empowerment of disabled persons by insisting on mainstreaming
disability issues into government programmes.
For instance, there are specific targets set in the Government's Expanded
Public Works Programme (EPWP) to benefit persons with disabilities in accessing
employment and skills development opportunities. Our learnership programmes
provide opportunities for persons with disabilities to participate so that they
acquire skills necessary to facilitate their absorption into the labour
market.
The challenge is always ensuring that these targets are pursued aggressively,
and achieved for the benefit of our disability sector.
We need to enhance partnerships with the private sector to mobilise
resources that will go into supporting programmes targeted at persons with
disabilities. These include support in the establishment of resource centres
for the disabled persons, and the provision of on-the-job skills development
and placement programmes which expose disabled persons to the work environment
and enable them to take up employment. The implementation of employment equity
targets with specific focus on persons with disabilities needs to be
accelerated in both the private and public sectors.
We appreciate and support the contributions by the Mpumalanga Council for
the Blind in championing initiatives that place the plight of blind and
partially sighted people on the development agenda of the province. In
partnership with the Mpumalanga Council for the Blind, the province was the
first to allocate resources, amounting to R1,1 million in the current financial
year, towards the implementation of the Orientation and Mobility Programme to
enhance the mobility skills of blind and partially sighted people so that they
achieve mobility independence. This will enhance the process of social
inclusion and active participation by blind and partially sighted individuals
in social life and day-to-day activities.
The Provincial Government will continue to support the training of mobility
instructors and enhance the capacity of our districts to prioritise the
development needs of the blind and partially sighted people.
The inclusion and integration of persons with disabilities into society as
equal citizens is not just about their mobility and physical access to social
facilities. It is about society coming to terms with the diversity of humanity,
overcoming its cultural and emotional barriers so that it embraces disability
as the constituent element of its inalienable and inherent identity.
In conclusion, this gathering here this evening is an apt reminder that our
advance in the mission to build a caring society for our country, and to
achieve modernity as a people, is necessarily defined by the extent to which we
transform our environment and create space for people living with
disabilities.
The resilience of the human spirit displayed by the movement for the blind
both nationally and across nations, must be an inspiration to us all.
Thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
17 October 2007
Source: Mpumalanga Provincial Government (http://www.mpumalanga.gov.za)
