28 Jul 2015

The research, monitoring and evaluation officer in the Disability Office, Mr Phinda Khame says the government does not deliberately come up with discriminatory policies.

Speaking during a seminar for the hearing impaired recently, Mr Khame said the failure by implementing officers to fully understand government policies lead to the marginalisation of certain sections of society.

He said it was regrettable that people living with disabilities were made to travel long distances to seek assistance from the Office of the President. He noted that the government has come up with development programmes that  do not exclude those living with disabilities.

“Services in a democratic country like ours should be evenly distributed. Everyone has the right to government services,” said Mr Khame.

He said although the government has not ratified the United Nations convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it was committed to improving their lives.

Mr Khame also noted that there were countries which had ratified the convention but were failing to implement it, adding that  Botswana was doing even better. He said the government wants to domesticate its policies and laws before ratifying the convention.

For her part, the executive director of the Botswana Society for the Deaf, Ms Orapeleng Mokgosi said her organisation advocates for the rights of the hearing impaired.

She said a lot needs to be done for the community, especially on issues of health, poverty and employment. She said joint efforts were needed to address challenges faced by the hearing impaired community.

She added that their funding was not adequate, and regretted that the hearing impaired were still lagging behind on information dissemination which contributes to their unfortunate economic status.

South East MP,  Mr Samuel Rantuana said it was important that the hearing impaired were empowered, adding that an empowered person automatically becomes a role model for others. The four-day seminar was attended by participants from neighbouring countries. Ends