Remarks by Honourable Premier TSP Makwetla at the National Council for the Blind's 38th Biennial Conference Welcome Dinner, Greenway Woods, Mpumalanga

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