11 Dec 2023

 Botswana will today commemorate International Day of Persons with Disabilities at Motswedi Rehabilitation Centre in Mochudi.

Kgatleng District has over 2 000 registered persons with disabilities and the district council was doing it’s all to augment the policies and services that government has put in place to help them.

Chairperson of the District Disability Coordinating Committee, Ms Tshepiso Ditsile-Thamo said in an interview recently that this year’s theme; United in Action to Rescue and Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) for, with and by Persons with Disabilities, focused on the 2030 agenda for SGD’s adopted by the United Nations member states since 2015.

She said the theme called for action to promote the rights and wellbeing of persons with disabilities at every level of society and development, and to also appreciate the challenges persons with disabilities encountered in their everyday lives.

“PWDs benefit from existing government programmes such as the Poverty Eradication scheme, the social dispensation programme and the cash component, which gives them a sense of belonging,” she said

Ms Ditsile-Thamo noted that 278 persons with disabilities were beneficiaries of the cash component government initiative whilst 117 of them were employed by either the government and the private sector.

The coordinator emphasised that government had taken a big role in ensuring that the rights of the persons with disabilities  were not violated through the establishment of the Botswana Council for the Disabled, which exists to advocate for their interests through resource mobilisation, capacity-building and good governance.

Ms Ditsile-Thamo however urged the private sector to promote the affirmative action initiatives by employing more PLWDs in their companies and applauded non-governmental organisations for playing a vital role, especially on vocational training of such individuals.

Persons with disabilities will be given a chance to showcase their talents and artefacts on the day.  ENDS