By Bida Elly David
Persons with disabilities are raising their voices to be appointed into the government institutions. Earlier this week, the group uttered alarm over exclusion in policy and decision making within the government sceneries.
In a statement extended to No. 1 Citizen Newspaper this week, the Chairperson for Central Equatoria State Union for persons with disabilities, Robert Lado said the claims elevated by the government that persons with disabilities were embodied in the current system were false.
He said that the few enrolled within the revitalised government emerged as representatives from their political parties but not from the Union or general assembly for persons with disabilities.
Robert said that disability issues in the country and the community have not been addressed and discrimination, isolation and underestimation continue to escalate despite their constant outcry.
“I need to make it clear that the few enrolled within the revitalised government emerged as representatives from their political parties but not from the Union or general assembly for persons with disabilities. They are there to represent affairs of their political parties not the affairs of persons with disabilities,” he said.
He underscored that despite the fact that the union made necessary efforts advocating for representation of persons with disabilities in the national parliament, all went in vain.
He termed the exclusion on the representation for persons with disabilities in the government and private sectors as an act against human rights since some of them bear full capacity to deliver services to the community and the entire nation.
‘’The Union has been advocating for the representation of persons with disabilities in the National Assembly but it has been disregarded. Despite the challenges, we will still continue to shout out demanding our representation to be considered starting from the parliament, the executive, and judiciary whether at the national, state and county levels,” he said.
Furthermore, Robert stated that the major reason for their exclusion was due to the belief by some people that disability was an inability but the perception reflected passive logic towards persons with disabilities at all levels.
“Some people may think that disability is inability but for us disability is not inability because some of us are already graduates from different universities having degrees, diplomas and certificates from different fields with full potential, skills and confidence towards service delivery to the people,” Robert said.
He further said that some of them whose rights were violated obtained papers from different fields emerged from different institutions of learning and have full potential and skills to deliver services despite having complications.
Robert urged the government to refrain from thoughts of exclusion to inclusion of persons with disabilities to participate in any developmental and decision making programs in all levels.