Press Statement
For Immediate Release
As government embarks on the nationwide mobile registration blitz, the FORUS party is calling on government to be inclusive and cater for people with disabilities.
Our party believes that while the exercise is a welcome development, people with disabilities should not be left behind as they are also an important constituency whose basic fundamental rights to participate in national processes such as politics are recognised and guaranteed in the Constitution.
The FORUS party appreciates that while government estimates that about 1% of the people live with disabilities in Zimbabwe, other organisations such as the National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH) argue that disability prevalence in Zimbabwe is over 10% of the population (NASCOH, 2013).
We note that despite the variance on the statistics, which we hope will be clarified by the upcoming National Census, persons with disabilities must not be left behind and government must ensure that there is adequate education and inclusive awareness which also caters for the blind and the deaf.
People with disabilities have been the worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and national Lockdown hence the urgent need to ensure that they are also accommodated and catered for by the ongoing mobile national registration blitz.
Considering that the majority of them also face mobility challenges, it is important that they utilise the ongoing mobile registration blitz which is decentralised and accessible within their communities.
We are therefore calling on government to deliver awareness campaigns using the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual citizens such as the deaf and the blind citizens.