Harare (New Ziana) –The Zimbabwe government is determined to facilitate and support persons with disabilities in their enterprises and income-generating activities, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Wednesday.
He said this during a meeting with persons with disabilities held at the State House.
President Mnangagwa said his government is also committed to support persons with disabilities in their other productive endeavours such as agriculture, mining, and business, among others.
“I urge the nation to adapt to the changing socio-economic environment and embrace innovative, inclusive and empowering models of development,” he said, adding on its part, the government is scaling up deliberate interventions towards the realisation of the aspirations of persons with disabilities.
He noted that the national Vision 2030 and National Development Strategy recognise disability inclusion as a fundamental and cross-cutting theme that should be considered by all socio-economic sectors.
It is against this background, he said, that government Ministries have established Departments for Gender Mainstreaming, Inclusivity and Wellness which are strategic focal entry points designed to enhance the inclusion of disability in the public sector.
“Meanwhile, the enactment of the Persons with Disabilities Bill must be expedited,” he stated.
President Mnangagwa said through the Special Advisor on Disability Issues, a broad array of programs and activities will be rolled out for the empowerment of persons with disabilities.
He urged the disability sector to adopt information communication technologies and move with speed to set up a credible database for effective programing and projects for persons with disabilities.
Capacity for monitoring and evaluating the various programs for the sector should equally be enhanced, he said.
“Let us begin to see more transformational results,” he said.
President Mnangagwa commended persons with disabilities for the successes they are achieving through the empowerment programs that his administration was championing.
The meeting provided an opportunity for the members of communities with disabilities to share innovative ideas and perspectives with the government as the country journeys towards attaining the vision of becoming an upper middle income economy by 2030.
It set the tone for stakeholders to accelerate the mainstreaming of disability into the ongoing national development and broad-based empowerment programs.
President Mnangagwa in June 2021 launched the National Disability Policy, which guides government efforts to craft, refine and implementresponsive and inclusive disability frameworks across all sectors and levels.
The Policy draws from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other international conventions which the government ratified, including the African Agenda 2063 and its disability inclusive protocols.
New Ziana
