Office on the Status of Disabled Persons
Theme
Disability Renaissance – From Poverty to Social, Economic and Political Empowerment of People with Disabilities living in Mpumalanga Province.
Vision
A Society for all.Mission
To improve the quality of life of all disabled citizens and their families, by removing the attitudinal, communication, physical and economical barriers that impoverish, isolate and segregate people with disabilities from their communities, and by equipping people with disabilities with skills and knowledge that will enable them to take up their rightful place in society.
Guiding Principles
The following principles should guide all activity:
Self Representation/Advocacy
Persons with disabilities are a force for change through self-advocacy. Group membership enables persons with disabilities to gain a new sense of dignity and confidence giving group members thereby the strength to voice their needs, assert themselves and achieve their entitlements so that, collectively, they can be a force for self-advocacy to be reckoned with.
Human Rights and Social Justice
All disabled persons should be treated with dignity and respect, irrespective of race, religion, language, class or ability. Perceptions of people with disabilities must shift to a new focus on their abilities.
Participation and Social Integration
Active participation by disabled persons should at all times be promoted. Specific attention should be given to the promotion and utilization of enabling mechanisms to address any barriers that might hinder full participation.
Equity and Redress
People with disabilities should benefit equally from the outcomes of all development strategies and public spending. Particular attention should be given to facilitation of participation for disabled persons previously excluded or marginalized on the basis of poverty, geographical location, disability, language, race, age or gender.
Responsibility & Ownership
It is the responsibility of all development functionaries responsible for poverty alleviation through service delivery to ensure that programme and project implementation includes people with disabilities as a specific target group and is supportive of group building and participatory processes among disabled persons.
Strategic Objectives
To facilitate inclusive Government development planning for the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities in Mpumalanga
To develop capacity building strategies that will enhance Government’s ability at all levels to implement recommendations in the White Paper on an Integrated National Disability Strategy
To develop an integrated management and consultative system for the coordination of disability planning, implementation and monitoring within the various line functions at all tiers of Government in the Province.
The office on the status of disabled persons play an active role in the promotion and protection of the human rights of all persons with disabilities in the Province, irrespective of race, age, gender, disability or geographic distribution.
Specific focus will be on inter-sectoral planning, program development, implementation and monitoring within key line functions and units in the Office of the Premier, as well as at Local Government level and in the Mpumalanga Legislature.
Achievements:
Education
The OSDP,
Department of Education, the disability sector and other stakeholders
participated in processes in an attempt to restructure the education system.
During this period support to special schools was provided in a form of
equipment, teacher support and the Kamagugu Multi-Lingual Primary School was
established with the support of a number of private sector companies which
includes the Independent Development Trust, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and
others.
Furthermore,
ten (10) pilot schools on Inclusive Education were implemented with the support
of the Finish Government.
In order to
aggressively address this matter the OSDP in partnership with the Mpumalanga
Youth Commission’s proposals on the renovation and upgrading of schools were
accepted by the Department of Education in the year 2003 followed with R 11.2m
budget. Work will begin during the year 2004 to make schools accessible.
This project will provide youth, women and disabled people with job
opportunities as well.
Debates
still continue in order to better the education system.
The OSDP has
supported civil society initiatives in the creation of the above noted school.
Support was provided in particular in resources mobilization and similar support
is still being provided to ensure completion.
The
implementation of Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) project in Mpumalanga
The OSDP
has during this period worked with Organizations of People with Disabilities and
the Department of Health to facilitate, influence access and provision of
services to people with disabilities in the Province. This resulted in the
following;
A contract
for the provision of Counseling and general rehabilitation services of the
Disabled People South Africa being extended whereby DPSA appoints CBR
consultants (disabled people) to render counseling services to people with
disabilities.
The
Mpumalanga Provincial Council for the Blind is also contracted to ensure the
provision of Orientation and Mobility services to blind people in the Province.
Both
projects employ also people with disabilities and has ensured that more than 20
000 people with disabilities are reached.
This is the first time that people with disabilities’ role is formalized in the delivery of rehabilitation services and a great achievement in the decade of freedom.
Housing
Access to housing for people with disabilities has dramatically improved during the decade under review. Apart from only being recipients of housing people with disabilities are now participating in the construction of these houses particularly in Siyabuswa, Masoyi and in other areas. This becomes a major economic empowerment and a major poverty reductions strategy.
Employment
Formal Employment
The promulgation of the Employment Equity Act in 1998 has been a major hope for all of us who cherish and appreciate diversity, however, there are still major challenges in translating the provisions of this Act into reality. Only few people with disabilities are employed in the provincial government and this represents far less than a percentage of the public service. In order to fast track this process the OSDP has developed and presented training to human resources managers, created a data base of people with disabilities requiring employment, facilitated relevant training for disabled people in order to make them even more competent. It is our conviction that this matter will be aggressively dealt with as we celebrate the decade of freedom.
SMME Development
We have worked very closely with the disability sector, the Department of Economic Affairs and Tourism, the Department of Labour and other role players that matters in this regard. As a result training was provided to disabled people who take part in SMMEs. The Mpumalanga Tender Board is also assisting in the implementation of the Affirmative Procurement Act.
Partnerships with Organizations of People with Disabilities
We have strengthened our relationship with the disability sector. This has resulted in major successes some noted already. Linked to all this we have exposed two (2) disabled people from the disability sector internationally through our cooperative partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This becomes an enormous resource for the sustainability of the disability sector.
Publicity, Public Awareness and Attitude Changing
The OSDP has
held a number of radio slots discussing issues related to disability. Some
of these were linked to specific commemorative days such as the Africa Human
Rights Day, International Day of Disabled Persons etc. This resulted in
people with disabilities and those without disabilities with family members who
are disabled contacting the offices for advice and information.
As we
continue striving to dymistify disability we coined the Mpumalanga Premier’
Disability Achiever Awards which was first piloted in the year 2000. The
purpose is to show case the abilities and potential of disabled persons,
recognize and serve as motivational instrument for professionals who work with
people with disabilities. We want to appreciate our corporate partnership
with Sasol, Highveld Steel, Emnotweni Casino, The Ridge, Huntleigh Africa,
Presta, Graceland Casino, Telkom, Eskom and Cell-C for their support in
sustaining this project.
Road shows in the different parts of the province were held as well.
Accessibility of public facilities
The OSDP has also coordinated in conjunction with the South African Human Rights Commission an Accessibility survey project during November 1999 aimed at sensitizing in particular Government on inaccessibility of public facilities and on how they pose barriers for the participation of people with disabilities in normal life. As a result of this process the SABC, Magistrate Court has been upgraded with a lift and made it accessible for people with disabilities.
Communication and Access to Information
The OSDP has
during this year appointed a Sign Language Interpreter. This resulted from
several demands by deaf persons and also that deaf persons could have access to
any information conveyed by Government. The post is rather more of a
role-playing post; this simply means that the officer also does some work for
the Premier, MEC and other Departments if required.
Basic Sign
Language training took place during this period whereby at least 70 officials
were trained on basic communications. It is envisaged that such training
will continue in the next year.
The Sport Against Crime (SPACE) Project
Our collaborative effort with the Mbombela Municipality and the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture has resulted in a partnership agreement with our brothers and sisters in the North Rhine Westfalia in Germany. As a result we are implementing the SPACE project which benefits more than 300 people with disabilities, 150 volunteers locally and those from Germany. An expansion to establish a vocational training project linked to the SPACE project is under construction.
DPO Support
The OSDP facilitated the formation of the DPO forum in an attempt to improve coordination and consultation. Furthermore during this period two (02) representatives of the DPO forum were afforded an opportunity to attend training in Japan organized by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Contact Details
Head: Office On The Status Of Disabled Persons
Tel: +27 +27 13 766 2361 /3 /4 /7 /8
Fax: 2713 766 2484/3
Mamsy Mashele
Tel: +27 +27 13 766 2361
Fax: +27 +27 13 766 2484