City warned not to shut out people with disabilities

22 May 2017

 

Service delivery and job opportunities for people with disabilities (PWDs) were in the spotlight when the Johannesburg Disability Forum (JDF) held its annual general meeting (AGM) at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, on Friday May 19.

 

The forum, launched by the City of Johannesburg in 2010, is an organisation representing people with disabilities through the facilitation of developmental programmes to ensure the promotion of their social inclusion, accessibility to services and mainstreaming in all the City’s programmes.

More than 100 delegates attended the AGM during which they assessed the forum’s achievements and challenges it faced since its formation. It also looked at how it could forge the way forward.

JDF Chairperson Nero Maseko said the AGM gave representatives the opportunity to interrogate whether the forum had achieved its objectives or not.

“We have come a long way since the City launched this forum seven years ago. That said, we have been faced with a lot of challenges along the way. But what is crucial is that we have managed to ensure that people with disabilities have a voice and that they are catered for by the City,” said Maseko.

He said the event also served as a networking platform to build relations between JDF and its stakeholders to ensure that the plight of people with disabilities was addressed.

“People with disabilities have many challenges, ranging from the lack of proper housing to the lack of sidewalks in some townships. The JDF is there to bridge the gap and we are grateful that the City saw it necessary to approve a policy that would look after the needs of people living with disabilities to ensure they were not overlooked,” said Maseko.

He said the relationship with the City was helping PWDs to come up with solutions to better their lives.

“The JDF is able to identify service delivery challenges and engage with the relevant departments. Our purpose is to monitor and evaluate whether City departments are serving their purpose or not,” said Maseko.

He said people with disabilities could not continue to be discriminated against as they played a meaningful role in society. Maseko added that the forum could do more if it had resources such as offices and funds.

Programme Director Ntsiki Loteni said there were opportunities for PWDs but called on them to register their businesses to stand a chance to be empowered.

“You are the ones who can spearhead change for [yourselves]. We need to keep the City busy. The City cannot relax while there are still issues that are not provided for,” said Loteni.

President of Blind SA Cathy Donaldson said: “Disabled people are always left behind. That is a big mistake.”