Government must uphold disability rights, not ignore them

The government’s failure to protect people with disabilities is continuing, despite the laws that were implemented to safeguard their rights.

As a journalist with an interest in social justice and human rights violation stories, I have written many stories about people with disabilities who had been abused or discriminated against.

As the country commemorates Disability Month, a woman with a disability from Mpumalanga appeared at the Magistrate’s Court in Bushbuckridge last week after she allegedly assaulted an employee from the department of social development (DSD), who reportedly mocked her because of her disability.

It was the third time Thandi Mdluli, from Oakley in Bushbuckridge, appeared in court and her case was postponed to 2 December, while the person accused of insulting her is continuing with her life.

The squabble between Mdluli and the DSD employee started last year when she reportedly posted her videos together with that of Paralympian and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius.

The employee wrote provocative captions, stating that she can’t think straight because of Mdluli’s disability.

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When Mdluli saw the posts, she confronted the employee, asking her to stop insulting her. But she allegedly continued.

Mdluli later reported the employee to her to the department, which failed to take action against her.

To make matters worse, DSD is a government department assigned to look after people with disabilities, yet it has failed to act against one of its own.

As I had been following this story, the department told me the matter was investigated.

But when I followed up later, the department’s provincial spokesperson told me that he was aware of the allegation and the investigation was still underway.

When I contacted him a few months later, he avoided my calls.

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This week, I spoke to some of the people from the department and they confirmed that no disciplinary measures have been taken against the employee in question.

Another issue that serves as evidence that the government does not care about people with disabilities is the case of Dolfred Sihlangu, who is blind.

He is a disability coordinator at the Mpumalanga-based Ehlanzeni district municipality.

He claims that since January he has been unable to do his job because he does not have personal assistant.

What I gathered is that the municipality failed to replace his former assistant after her contract expired.

They offered Sihlangu an intern whom he rejected on the grounds that he needed someone with experience.

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When questioned about the matter, the municipality said it would attend to it but, until now, Sihlangu still has no assistant.

Sihlangu’s job is essential because he links the government and the people with disabilities in the Ehlanzeni region.

By looking at these two incidents, one can easily conclude the government’s failure to look after people with disabilities is getting worse.

Yes, we appreciate the fact that the country has many laws aimed at protecting people with disabilities, but the fact that government entities are violating the rights of these people and get away with it tells us a lot.

Since the government is failing to take action against its entities or employees, it shows that it does not care about the rights of people with disabilities.

The government must lead by example by protecting the rights of people with disabilities.

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