Marlene le Roux, mother of the late Adam George
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Dear Mr President
Thank you for presenting a five-year plan for the government of national unity. Thank you for mentioning persons with disabilities (PWD) as part of the future of an inclusive and transformational South African society.
Allow me to suggest a few ways in which this laudable aspiration can become a meaningful, specific action plan:
- Central to your speech was a focus on job creation. For most PWD this begins and ends with internships. Why can’t the government implement a policy to incentivise companies, organisations, authorities and government administrations to create meaningful and sustainable jobs for PWD?
- In terms of combating poverty (a second important element in your speech), why not extend the current system of social grants for households in which there are persons with severe disabilities to a more inclusive approach that not only focuses on the PWD, but also the household and the broader support network? In this way, a less vulnerable care structure is realised.
- What would the development of skills mean for young people with disabilities? First, why not consider a review of the current system of special needs education? This often seems to be a space which isolates persons with disabilities. The best response to each of the diverse categories of disabilities should be incentivised. Added to this: When a young person with a disability turns 18 all infrastructural support ends! Here, vocational and tertiary education could be used as instruments in enabling young persons with disabilities to acquire the necessary skills to obtain jobs.
- A last policy suggestion is: Why not demand of each ministry to include in its plans a specific aspect of the improvement of the lives of PWD? Be it transport, job creation, education, or the accessibility of administrative services, all the ministries should do so.
Mr President, let this historic 7th administration work for persons with disabilities.
Marlene le Roux
Disability activist
In 1967, Marlene le Roux contracted polio at the age of 3 months.