Plea for disabled to be part of development strategies

THE Secretary General of the National Federation of People with Disabilities in Namibia (NFPDN), Gerson Mutendere, has advised the Keetmanshoop Town Council to familiarise themselves with the challenges disabled people face.

Mutendere said the council could then incorporate these into their local development strategies. Speaking at a breakfast meeting with the town council at Keetmanshoop yesterday, Mutendere said the meeting aimed to discuss challenges faced by disabled people.He also appealed to the town council to create a conducive and accessible environment for the approximately 1 000 disabled people at the southern town.As part of the observation of National Disability Day on June 10, people with disabilities will march to the Keetmanshoop Regional Council office to hand over a petition to Karas Regional Governor Stephanus Goliath.The marchers want to see their concerns incorporated into the regional development strategies .Keetmanshoop Mayor Simon Petrus Tiboth said he had taken cognisance of the suffering of people with disabilities, noting that “the discussion was an eye-opener for my town council”.”Therefore we will make provision in our budget for people with disabilities to assist them to regain human dignity,” he said.He emphasised that the council did not discriminate against people with disabilities but rather felt it was their task to uplift such people.”They are among the people who voted us into power – therefore we do not regard their votes as a disabled vote,” he concluded.The training Officer of the NFPDN, Forward Mlotshwa, cited that a survey done by the University of Namibia and the Ministry of Lands and Rehabilitation had shown that people with disabilities were less educated because of barriers to utilising available study opportunities.Speaking at a breakfast meeting with the town council at Keetmanshoop yesterday, Mutendere said the meeting aimed to discuss challenges faced by disabled people.He also appealed to the town council to create a conducive and accessible environment for the approximately 1 000 disabled people at the southern town.As part of the observation of National Disability Day on June 10, people with disabilities will march to the Keetmanshoop Regional Council office to hand over a petition to Karas Regional Governor Stephanus Goliath.The marchers want to see their concerns incorporated into the regional development strategies .Keetmanshoop Mayor Simon Petrus Tiboth said he had taken cognisance of the suffering of people with disabilities, noting that “the discussion was an eye-opener for my town council”.”Therefore we will make provision in our budget for people with disabilities to assist them to regain human dignity,” he said.He emphasised that the council did not discriminate against people with disabilities but rather felt it was their task to uplift such people.”They are among the people who voted us into power – therefore we do not regard their votes as a disabled vote,” he concluded.The training Officer of the NFPDN, Forward Mlotshwa, cited that a survey done by the University of Namibia and the Ministry of Lands and Rehabilitation had shown that people with disabilities were less educated because of barriers to utilising available study opportunities.