By
Sandra Munemo
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches
has launched an empowering campaign that is meant to unpack the Disability Bill
which is meant to repeal the now obsolete Disabled Person Act enacted in 1992.
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches
has initiated the process of raising awareness on the contents of the Bill and
the processes the Bill takes to become an Act of Parliament.
The recently gazetted Disability
Bill, which is premised on the Human Rights Model of disability, casts rays of
hope in the inclusion, and promotion of the rights and well-being of Persons
with Disabilities (PWDs) in Zimbabwe, which is enshrined in the country’s
National Development Strategy 1 which moves with the ‘Leaving Noone Behind
Mantra’.
The activities by the Church are
meant to invoke agency and encourage ownership and participation of PWDs in the
crucial crafting of the law. The Church is also using its presence in the
communities to address the information gap that affects most PWDs due to
several issues that include economic hardships.
Although PWDs have largely
viewed the Bill as progressive, there have been many sticking points identified
thus far. These include the requirement for appointment to the Disability
Commission, which states that one must be linked with a registered Organisation
for Persons with Disabilities (OPD). The dialogues noted that the requirement is
exclusionary, as most PWDs are not affiliated with organisations.
The requirement for OPDs to be
registered under the Private Voluntary Act was regarded to require further
clarification and debate, given the majority of OPDs are community-based
organisations (CBOs) that do not meet the registration requirements for PVOs.
The Church urges the government
and civil society organizations (CSOs) to consider allocating resources to
support the Bill’s pre-packing around the country, so that when public
consultations are held, OPDs, PWDs, and all relevant stakeholders can make
meaningful and informed responses.
To date, the dialogues on the
Bill have been conducted in Bubi, Chiredzi, Lupane and Nemamwa districts.
