Popular Democratic Movement parliamentarian Diederik Vries has raised concerns over the lack of sign language interpreters across different public offices in Namibia.
He says this excludes people with hearing impairments.
Vries said this in his notice of questions to prime minister Elijah Ngurare in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
“Despite repeated assurances from the government about inclusivity, Namibian people with hearing impairments remain effectively excluded from essential public services,” he said.
He said the Namibian National Association of the Deaf has consistently warned that these
communication failures in important sectors, such as healthcare, policing and welfare services, are not just administrative oversights, but systemic shortcomings.
He added that this denies citizens their basic rights and dignity, citing that the ongoing failure to establish a properly institutionalised sign language interpreting system reflects poorly on the government’s commitment.
This, he said, raises serious concerns about its compliance with both domestic disability obligations and international commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Vries called on the government to ensure that interpreters working in public institutions are properly trained, accredited and held to professional standards.
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