02 Dec 2024

The Minister for State President has informed Parliament that concrete reforms and actual impact on the quality of lives is reflected through results of implementation of different disability frameworks delivered across sectors. 

When answering a question in Parliament recently, Mr Moeti Mohwasa explained that the accession to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had led to the development of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2024, which eliminated discrimination against individuals living with disabilities. 

He said the act established the Disability Coordination Office tasked with coordinating and monitoring implementation of the act, the Revised National Policy on Disabilities, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, through which the office had been set up and prospects were underway to fully resource it. 

Mr Mohwasa said the Persons with Disabilities Act also established a National Disability Council whose members had been appointed to oversee disability mainstreaming. 

On human rights issues, Mr Mohwasa said government had developed the Ombudsman Act, 2021 to expand the powers of Ombudsman to include the protection of human rights and promotion of investigation of violation of these rights, a function that broadens the role of Ombudsman to embrace all categories of human rights, including for person living with disabilities Mr Mohwasa added that the government had established collaborative working relationships with associations, organisations, and individuals with disabilities to enhance awareness and support for disability issues. 

Other tangible developments the minister said, included the review of Mental Health Act, 2023 which protected and promoted the rights of people living with mental illness, provide for mental health care, treatment and services and the legal framework also eliminated some demeaning and derogatory terms on mental health patients. 

The Economic Inclusion Act, 2022, the minister said, ensured that targeted citizens including persons with disabilities had meaningful participation in the country’s economy. 

Minister Mohwasa said government developed an Affirmative Action Recruitment Policy, 2024 to increase employment of people living with disabilities. 

He said government continued to recruit and deploy district disability officers as envisaged by the Revised National Policy on Disability and 12 positions had been recruited and deployed to Gaborone, Molepolole, Ramotswa, Serowe, Mochudi, Kasane, Gumare, Letlhakane, Ghanzi, Francistown, Jwaneng and Maun and others to follow. Collaborative working relationships between government and orgaisations associations and bodies working with persons living with disabilities have been in existence and such organisations play an instrumental role in advancing disability awareness creation, advocacy and capacity building initiatives, Mr Mohwasa said.

 He also mentioned that the Ministry for State President was working with Botswana Council for the Disabled and the council received subvention from the government and distributes to members. 

Bobirwa MP, Mr Taolo Lucas had wanted the minister to state concrete reforms and actual impact on the quality of life following ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), passage of a policy on persons with disabilities and the enactment of a law to protect PWDs in Botswana. 

He also wanted to know how government had or intended to work with organisations, associations and bodies working with PWDs in the furtherance of rights and welfare of PWDs. Ends