City urged not to leave people with special needs behind
JOHANNESBURG – MMC for Group Corporate and Social Services Ntombi Khumalo calls on all government department to cater for people with disabilities.
The MMC for Group Corporate and Social Services Ntombi Khumalo has interacted with disabled staff of the City of Joburg on various issues affecting them in the workplace.
The MMC wanted to know if the employees had easy access and enough facilities such as toilet facilities, were they receiving any kind of training and did they feel they have equal opportunities to grow in the City like anyone else.
“Here at Metro Centre some of our restrooms do not accommodate people with disabilities, people have to go to certain floors to get facilities that will accommodate their needs,” said Khumalo.
“Another challenge that cuts across to every employee that I can think off is stationery. I have to buy my own stationery because there isn’t any in the City.”
Khumalo said people with disabilities have been excluded from the mainstream of society and continued to experience difficulty in accessing fundamental rights.
“As the leadership of the City of Johannesburg, we acknowledge that people with special needs require special attention and if we want to achieve our priority to create a professional civil service that serves the residents of Joburg with pride, we need to attend to all issues that may hinder people with special needs to perfume to the best of their ability.”
She has urged all departments to commit to providing the necessary support to each and every employee.
“Persons with disabilities in particular need every support we can give in terms of mentorship, coaching and any other necessary tools of trade required to enable them to thrive within the City.
“We are also ensuring that the recruitment processes are accessible to people with special needs compared to other applicants with the same level of education and qualifications. The City must therefore continuously improve the contractual obligations with the recruitment agencies to support and encourage applications from people with disabilities.”
Related article:
https://northeasterntribune.co.za/238730/city-responds-petition-ems-employees/
