House Chairperson, thank you Deputy Minister, DM, for your response. Has the ministry engaged with the various government departments especially the Department of Social Development to ensure that they prioritise the upgrading of the facilities
disability centres in the rural areas and the townships? I thank you.
The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY FOR WOMEN, YOUTH AND PERSONS
WITH DISABILITIES: Hon member, we have a task team between the two departments, which continuously is working on all the rights that are protected in terms of the Constitution and the White Paper on the rights of persons with disabilities, but of course as I have responded to the previous question all what we have to do in all the deliberations is to pay particular attention to those who are not in our golden cities where everybody walks around and talk to them on a daily basis but especially people who have not had access.
Hon members we are fully aware that we have serious challenges in rural communities when it comes to disabilities because even our education system by the time they get to universities where there are special gadgets that help them whatever aids they require, in rural communities people with disabilities would have dropped out of the system. So those are some of challenges we grappling with, the campaigns we want our mass media to help with. To encourage people to take children to school as I have said that now that early child development is compulsory, so that they are identified quiet early. They are screened during the first three years and also that those
who need or maybe who can be assisted with the minimal remedial measures, to be able to hear, to see, to walk around or to exercise their communication abilities, so there is a lot more which we need to do in partnership of course with our tribal authorities, to deal with this problem of says not to be seen to be neglecting our care centres in rural areas. Thank you.