07 Dec 2021

 Selebi-Phikwe Town Council (SPTC) has vowed to continue empowering People  with Disabilities (PWDs).

The Town Clerk, Mr Stephen Motlogelwa said SPTC would ensure that disability inclusion was part of the municipality’s planning, development and decision making.

Mr Motlogelwa, who was officiating at PWDs Day held at Re ka Kgona Rehabilitation Centre in Selebi Phikwe on Monday, said one of the initiatives that SPTC embarked on was to establish Re ka Kgona Rehabilitation Centre, where the council invested and empowered young boys and girls  with disabilities from different villages across the country with vocational skills.

He said these skills would enable them to earn a living if future and change their lives and those of their families.

“As a council we appreciate your valuable efforts and contributions that you bring on a daily basis to make this council shine. We will continue to support you, give an ear to your concerns and to see you as intact human beings, who are well capable of producing the best out of themselves,” he said.

The day was held under the theme: “Leadership and partnership of persons with disabilities towards an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 war.”

Mr Motlogelwa said the global crisis of COVID-19 had deepened preexisting inequalities in the nation, exposing the extent of inclusion and highlighting the need to work hard on disability inclusion.

He said PWDs were the most excluded group in society and were less likely to access services such as health care, education, employment and to just participate well in community activities due to their conditions.

“Disability inclusion will result in a COVID-19 response and recovery that serves everyone in the society, suppressing the virus, helping us as a nation to recover well,” he said.

Furthermore, he encouraged SPTC employees with disabilities and Re ka Kgona Rehabilitation Centre students to have a positive attitude, adding that potential effort was the key to unlocking their potential.

One of the SPTC employees  with disability, Mr Laas Maemo, who joined the council in 1996, thanked the leadership for recognising their contribution in the workplace. BOPA