A moment of reflection and serious feedback
The international day for persons with disabilities was set aside by the United Nations as a way to recognize the need for social inclusion of the largest minority group in the world.
As such, the day is now being commemorated annually on 3 December as a way of reflecting on achievements gained in the process of gaining equality, equity and inclusion by all persons with disabilities.
As persons with disabilities in Zimbabwe, this is the day we celebrate a number of achievements that the disability community has gained so far.
These include the promulgation of the Disabled Persons Act of 1992, that guides the inclusion of PWDs through rehabilitation, welfare provision as well as the establishment of the national disability board among other provisions.
The year 2013 saw the new Constitution that is very progressive when it comes to disability inclusion.
The Constitution provides for the election of two senators to represent the disability community in parliament. This is over and above other constitutional provisions on disability including the doctrine of self representation, the right to state funded education, the recognition of sign language as one of the languages of Zimbabwe, the need to promote Braille and other forms of writing and communication by the state among other provisions.
The inauguration of the Second Republic witnessed giant steps towards disability inclusion in Zimbabwe. The most fundamental one being an honest and sincere political will from the highest office on the land to champion, spearhead and drive disability inclusion across all facets of society.
This has seen PWDs being appointed to various key positions across government for the first time in the history of this country.
Surely, President E.D. Mnangagwa’s mantra of leaving none behind has gained some visible momentum, with PWDs feeling a sense of citizenship and belonging for the first time.
The establishment of the disability affairs department in 2018 is yet another expression of the sincerity of the Second Republic when it comes to the promotion of the aspirations of PWDs.
In order to demonstrate his personal commitment to achieving total inclusion of PWDs, the President appointed an advisor on disability issues to his office as soon as he assumed office.
On a number of occasions, the president would personally interact with PWDs just to demonstrate his sincerity and commitment to pushing the disability inclusion agenda.
The Second Republic has also seen the promulgation of the national disability policy in June 2021 to further entrench the national disability inclusion agenda in all spheres of life.
Just on the heels of this policy, the country witnessed the appointment of the first High Court Judge with a visual impairment.
This was then followed by numerous appointments of PWDs to positions of chief director, director, deputy director and other senior posts in government.
On the education front, it is pleasing to note that Zimbabwe has got one of the most educated PWDs at all levels, thanks to state funded education programmes targeting the group.
Surely, as we commemorate the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, the disability community has a lot more to celebrate than before.
On the social protection front, persons with disabilities stand to benefit from a number of economic empowerment vehicles including the disability revolving fund over and above other such funds administered by a number of government ministries, departments and agencies.
A disability grant for those not able to work is also available from the Ministry of Social Welfare.
In the middle of all these achievements, a lot still needs to be done to further translate the available political will into action on the ground.
Because human beings are creatures of habits, senior bureaucrats charged with overseeing disability inclusion continue to throw spanners on the way of the leaving none behind mantra being championed by President Mnangagwa.
This has witnessed a slake in disability related service provision including the purchase of assistive devices, the provision of empowerment funds as well as general disability programming.
Some senior bureaucrats have even claimed monopoly over disability, boasting of having six degrees on disability.
They very well know how to handle disability the same way a plumber knows how to fix pipes. As a result, the commemoration of this day for PWDs is yet to be done by government.
After a spirited protest from the disability community, the nation saw a belated statement on PWDs on 8 December 2023. It would appear wheels are coming off somewhere, with even heads of responsible ministries vehemently and publicly rejecting disability inclusion.
The election of senators to represent persons with disabilities in parliament saw the evil hand of albinism in action, with those still glued to the charity model seeking to thwart the God-given right to self determination by persons with disabilities by seeking to impose their own preferred candidates.
We are sure that the second republic will never fold its hands when its very foundations of inclusion are shaken.
The question then remains, are these bureaucrats still loyal to the cause for which they were appointed?
The disability community is always hopeful that something shall be done by the powers that be to translate the available political will into action.
Otherwise, a very important day to commemorate the achievements gained so far on the disability arena has come and gone. What remains is for the nation to continue pushing the disability inclusion agenda.
By Paul Gumbo
+263 71 553 1757
paulgumbo1990@gmail.com
