Date: 25/11/2003
Source: Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Title: Mahlangu: Mpumalanga Premier's Disability Achiever Awards ceremony
ADDRESS BY PREMIER NJ MAHLANGU AT THE MPUMALANGA PREMIER'S DISABILITY ACHIEVER AWARDS CEREMONY, 25 November 2003
Programme Director
Leaders from the disability sector
Corporate sector partners
Representatives from the media
Government officials
Distinguished guests
I greet you all!
I should like to start by saying how pleased and honoured I am to be here today on such a special occasion. We are gathered here to witness a very significant and historic process in the empowerment of persons with disabilities.
A process that further confirms that we recognise that people with disabilities are an essential asset in our communities and therefore should be given the opportunity to contribute in society's development.
We appreciate and salute our heroes and heroines who without putting themselves first worked hard to put the needs and interests of the community first and therefore contributed in the empowerment of people with disabilities.
But do we all have the same understanding of what disability means?
Mpumalanga, and indeed this country, contain a wide variety of people with different backgrounds and origins, with different belief systems, people of different ages and, of course, different levels of physical, emotional or intellectual prowess or impairment.
I believe that tonight we are celebrating that diversity. Celebrating that diversity can enrich all of our lives and that is what the Mpumalanga Premier's Disability Achievers Awards are all about.
Diversity and inclusion is not something that is just about other people. It concerns each and every one of us. As we pass through life each of us will acquire characteristics that could lead to us being discriminated against.
If we live long enough we will, by definition, become older and could therefore encounter discrimination on account of age. If we survive until the age of 85, nine out of ten of us will have a significant impairment or disability. Even at whatever age we happen to be now, how many of us have the fitness of an Olympic athlete?
Disability is nothing special. It will be part of all our lives. Stress and mental illness could affect any of us tomorrow. Should we be subject to discrimination as a consequence? Of course not. So, by promoting an inclusive workplace and society we protect not only our colleagues but also ultimately ourselves.
Many disabled people experience discrimination every day of our lives. Some of these take the form of not providing ramps so that disabled people can access buildings. In some cases blind people do not have access to information in a format they can read. Deaf people are denied access to television and radio programmes or even to emergency announcements in railway stations. People with learning disabilities are denied information in easy reader versions that they can understand. People who are mentally ill or who have a history of mental illness face prejudice and fear which in turn limits their life opportunities.
We believe these and other awards will help to change those negative attitudes and reinforce the position that it is society that disables those less fortunate in our communities. These awards should not be seen as a one-off event that we can forget about as soon as we leave this hall. It must be one stage in a process towards demystifying disability. We must see this as a step in the continuing journey of the emancipation of disabled people and their determination to seize control of their own lives.
Collectively you have won many battles but there are more to fight and you must ensure you have the structures to enable you to do so. The government I lead will always be in the forefront of placing the issues of the disabled high on the agenda. Of course we will do so with the disabled people. Nothing about the disabled without the disabled is our credo.
Disability rights are young as a legal or academic concept. It is of course not new to me or to many of you. I grew up with an awareness of the need for legal rights for disabled people. I support the view that human rights have a particular importance for disabled people. I think we might win the battle of civil rights in the next ten years but the battle for human rights will be a long hard slog.
For instance at present access to independent living options is still essentially granted on a discretionary, rather than mandatory basis. The term independent living refers to all disabled people having the same choice, control and freedom as any other citizen - at home, at work, and as members of the community.
This does not necessarily mean disabled people "doing everything for themselves", but it does mean that any practical assistance people need should be based on their own choices and aspirations.
There are considerable restrictions on both the levels of resources people can receive, and on the ways in which they are allowed to use these resources to organise their support systems. So, for example, disabled people might be eligible to receive services to enable them to access personal assistance at home, but not at work.
Similarly, assistance with travel might be available for certain activities (going to school or to the shops, for example), but not for participation in social or leisure activities. In practice this often means that, instead of being able to participate freely in the full range of community life, disabled people have to organise their lives around whatever kinds of practical support are available.
This might tackle some of the practical barriers they face but rarely all of them. And, in a lot of cases, the minimum support people can expect to receive does not guarantee much more than simply being able to stay alive.
As we accelerate transformation for the empowerment of persons with disabilities, lets therefore unite into a force that is indivisible. A united front, which further strives for equality and equity, which ultimately has the objective of building the nation. A front that will, together with the disabled people in our communities, champion laws that will protect all of us.
But let me hasten to warn that the law can only go so far. The real success will be achieved when we no longer need law because people do the right thing automatically. That of course depends on individuals. People like each of you and me.
Governments and management can set of the direction but individuals commit discrimination. Every act of discrimination weakens our society. Everyone who refuses to tolerate discrimination strengthens it. We all have our role to play.
There is still a great deal to do but your presence here today suggests to me that you are playing your part and I wish you every possible success in continuing to do so.
During this month as I speak more than 150 officials organised themselves and went to provide services to persons with disabilities and children in various areas that includes Marapyane, Dullstroom, Driefontein, Kromdraai, Mananga and Luphisa. It is with great sense of pride and appreciation that I mention some of the services provided.
These included application for identity documents (ID), birth certificates, disability grants, provision of wheelchairs, application for low cost housing, information on crime prevention, disability rights, replacement of doors, electoral education and many other services from various departments.
Shall I take this opportunity and indicate once more that during the week of 3 to 7 November the Department of Health provided 120 wheelchairs. More than 700 ID applications and 244 birth registration were made by the Department of Home Affairs and 119 disability grants were approved, just to mention a few.
A detailed comprehensive report with regard to this service delivery innovation project will be made available at a later stage. All these further confirm our commitment in increasing access to services for persons with disabilities.
Something else, Mpumalanga Province will be hosting the International Day of Disabled Persons on 3 December 2003 at the Nelspruit Rugby Stadium. It will be addressed by Minister Essop Pahad. The focus of the year will be celebrating disability in our decade of democracy.
We urge all people in the province to participate in this event because it will contribute demonstrating our commitment to the noble agenda of the Africa Decade of Disabled Persons.
As the province of Mpumalanga we therefore support the national and international processes aimed at the development of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities because we are convinced it is genuine and will put disability at the heart of global development.
May I conclude by saying that all of you in this august gathering you are very special and that your contribution is very much applauded. That if it was not because of our finalists we could have never converged here today and therefore I personally want to appreciate each an individual finalist for the commitment and hard work over the years.
Lastly, I want to thank the private sector for their total commitment and contribution in this noble objective. I want to believe that this is not the end and we will continue to work as a collective and improve the lives of our people.
As we indulge ourselves and enjoy the festive season let us all remember that HIV/AIDS kills and knows no boundary. This means that the disease does not discriminate because of disability and therefore let us practice safe sex.
Lastly, let us all arrive alive wherever we are going. Therefore let us not drink and drive, speed kills; if you do not die you become disabled and therefore it is not in any way our intention to increase the numbers of people with disabilities.
Shall we all enjoy and celebrate the whole month's activities.
Thank you for your attention.
I thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
25 November 2003
Source: Mpumalanga Provincial Government
Title: Mahlangu: Mpumalanga Premier's Disability Achiever Awards ceremony
ADDRESS BY PREMIER NJ MAHLANGU AT THE MPUMALANGA PREMIER'S DISABILITY ACHIEVER AWARDS CEREMONY, 25 November 2003
Programme Director
Leaders from the disability sector
Corporate sector partners
Representatives from the media
Government officials
Distinguished guests
I greet you all!
I should like to start by saying how pleased and honoured I am to be here today on such a special occasion. We are gathered here to witness a very significant and historic process in the empowerment of persons with disabilities.
A process that further confirms that we recognise that people with disabilities are an essential asset in our communities and therefore should be given the opportunity to contribute in society's development.
We appreciate and salute our heroes and heroines who without putting themselves first worked hard to put the needs and interests of the community first and therefore contributed in the empowerment of people with disabilities.
But do we all have the same understanding of what disability means?
Mpumalanga, and indeed this country, contain a wide variety of people with different backgrounds and origins, with different belief systems, people of different ages and, of course, different levels of physical, emotional or intellectual prowess or impairment.
I believe that tonight we are celebrating that diversity. Celebrating that diversity can enrich all of our lives and that is what the Mpumalanga Premier's Disability Achievers Awards are all about.
Diversity and inclusion is not something that is just about other people. It concerns each and every one of us. As we pass through life each of us will acquire characteristics that could lead to us being discriminated against.
If we live long enough we will, by definition, become older and could therefore encounter discrimination on account of age. If we survive until the age of 85, nine out of ten of us will have a significant impairment or disability. Even at whatever age we happen to be now, how many of us have the fitness of an Olympic athlete?
Disability is nothing special. It will be part of all our lives. Stress and mental illness could affect any of us tomorrow. Should we be subject to discrimination as a consequence? Of course not. So, by promoting an inclusive workplace and society we protect not only our colleagues but also ultimately ourselves.
Many disabled people experience discrimination every day of our lives. Some of these take the form of not providing ramps so that disabled people can access buildings. In some cases blind people do not have access to information in a format they can read. Deaf people are denied access to television and radio programmes or even to emergency announcements in railway stations. People with learning disabilities are denied information in easy reader versions that they can understand. People who are mentally ill or who have a history of mental illness face prejudice and fear which in turn limits their life opportunities.
We believe these and other awards will help to change those negative attitudes and reinforce the position that it is society that disables those less fortunate in our communities. These awards should not be seen as a one-off event that we can forget about as soon as we leave this hall. It must be one stage in a process towards demystifying disability. We must see this as a step in the continuing journey of the emancipation of disabled people and their determination to seize control of their own lives.
Collectively you have won many battles but there are more to fight and you must ensure you have the structures to enable you to do so. The government I lead will always be in the forefront of placing the issues of the disabled high on the agenda. Of course we will do so with the disabled people. Nothing about the disabled without the disabled is our credo.
Disability rights are young as a legal or academic concept. It is of course not new to me or to many of you. I grew up with an awareness of the need for legal rights for disabled people. I support the view that human rights have a particular importance for disabled people. I think we might win the battle of civil rights in the next ten years but the battle for human rights will be a long hard slog.
For instance at present access to independent living options is still essentially granted on a discretionary, rather than mandatory basis. The term independent living refers to all disabled people having the same choice, control and freedom as any other citizen - at home, at work, and as members of the community.
This does not necessarily mean disabled people "doing everything for themselves", but it does mean that any practical assistance people need should be based on their own choices and aspirations.
There are considerable restrictions on both the levels of resources people can receive, and on the ways in which they are allowed to use these resources to organise their support systems. So, for example, disabled people might be eligible to receive services to enable them to access personal assistance at home, but not at work.
Similarly, assistance with travel might be available for certain activities (going to school or to the shops, for example), but not for participation in social or leisure activities. In practice this often means that, instead of being able to participate freely in the full range of community life, disabled people have to organise their lives around whatever kinds of practical support are available.
This might tackle some of the practical barriers they face but rarely all of them. And, in a lot of cases, the minimum support people can expect to receive does not guarantee much more than simply being able to stay alive.
As we accelerate transformation for the empowerment of persons with disabilities, lets therefore unite into a force that is indivisible. A united front, which further strives for equality and equity, which ultimately has the objective of building the nation. A front that will, together with the disabled people in our communities, champion laws that will protect all of us.
But let me hasten to warn that the law can only go so far. The real success will be achieved when we no longer need law because people do the right thing automatically. That of course depends on individuals. People like each of you and me.
Governments and management can set of the direction but individuals commit discrimination. Every act of discrimination weakens our society. Everyone who refuses to tolerate discrimination strengthens it. We all have our role to play.
There is still a great deal to do but your presence here today suggests to me that you are playing your part and I wish you every possible success in continuing to do so.
During this month as I speak more than 150 officials organised themselves and went to provide services to persons with disabilities and children in various areas that includes Marapyane, Dullstroom, Driefontein, Kromdraai, Mananga and Luphisa. It is with great sense of pride and appreciation that I mention some of the services provided.
These included application for identity documents (ID), birth certificates, disability grants, provision of wheelchairs, application for low cost housing, information on crime prevention, disability rights, replacement of doors, electoral education and many other services from various departments.
Shall I take this opportunity and indicate once more that during the week of 3 to 7 November the Department of Health provided 120 wheelchairs. More than 700 ID applications and 244 birth registration were made by the Department of Home Affairs and 119 disability grants were approved, just to mention a few.
A detailed comprehensive report with regard to this service delivery innovation project will be made available at a later stage. All these further confirm our commitment in increasing access to services for persons with disabilities.
Something else, Mpumalanga Province will be hosting the International Day of Disabled Persons on 3 December 2003 at the Nelspruit Rugby Stadium. It will be addressed by Minister Essop Pahad. The focus of the year will be celebrating disability in our decade of democracy.
We urge all people in the province to participate in this event because it will contribute demonstrating our commitment to the noble agenda of the Africa Decade of Disabled Persons.
As the province of Mpumalanga we therefore support the national and international processes aimed at the development of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities because we are convinced it is genuine and will put disability at the heart of global development.
May I conclude by saying that all of you in this august gathering you are very special and that your contribution is very much applauded. That if it was not because of our finalists we could have never converged here today and therefore I personally want to appreciate each an individual finalist for the commitment and hard work over the years.
Lastly, I want to thank the private sector for their total commitment and contribution in this noble objective. I want to believe that this is not the end and we will continue to work as a collective and improve the lives of our people.
As we indulge ourselves and enjoy the festive season let us all remember that HIV/AIDS kills and knows no boundary. This means that the disease does not discriminate because of disability and therefore let us practice safe sex.
Lastly, let us all arrive alive wherever we are going. Therefore let us not drink and drive, speed kills; if you do not die you become disabled and therefore it is not in any way our intention to increase the numbers of people with disabilities.
Shall we all enjoy and celebrate the whole month's activities.
Thank you for your attention.
I thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
25 November 2003
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