26 Mar 2017

Assistant minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Thato Kwerepe has reaffirmed government’s commitment to working towards a barrier free environment for People with Disabilities, so that they may exercise their full potential.

Officiating at the International Disability Conference hosted by Inclusive Directions Botswana in Gaborone, Thursday, he said the inclusion of disability issues into the development agenda could be traced as far back as 1974 when a consultant was engaged to assess the needs of people with disabilities.

Mr Kwerepe said the exercise led to the establishment of what came to be known as the “Special Services Unit for the Handicapped” in the then Ministry of Health and a special education unit in the Ministry of Education.
“It further fostered the establishment of the Botswana Council for Disabled as a government supported NGO to facilitate and coordinate the activities of Disabled Persons Organisation,” he said.

Mr Kwerepe said the initial steps were followed by various policies and programmes that aimed at improving the quality of life for People with Disabilities such as National Policy on Care for People with Disabilities of 1996.
He said a review of the said policy was currently before Parliament and  disability issues were subsequently further incorporated into other initiatives among them the Destitution Policy, National Population Policy, Revised Land Board Policy, Revised National Policy on Education of 1994, Inclusive Policy on Education, Mental Health Policy, and Health Policy, among others.

He also said government through affirmative action ensured that people with disabilities benefit from various programmes and economic empowerment projects such as Poverty Eradication, LIMID, ISPAAD, and Local Procurement Scheme among others.

Most of these achievements, he said were attributed to the commitment of the leadership of this country since 1966.
“This has more recently been reflected in government’s establishment of the Disability Coordinating Office in 2010 to specifically coordinate the implementation of the Disability Policy,” he said.

In this regard, Mr Kwerepe said the Office had established coordinating structures across government and districts, and developed the mainstreaming strategy and other programmes.
The seminar was held under the theme - Reflecting on sustainable development goals; opening a world of opportunities for people with disabilities”. ENDS