Govt urged to scrap duty for disabled

INSTITUTIONS that cater for people living with disability have appealed to the Government to scrap duty on imported assistive devices amid revelations that most of the devices are beyond the reach of many.

Speaking during a tour by Special Advisor to President Mnangagwa on Disability, Senator Dr Joshua Malinga at the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ)-run Henry Murray School of the Deaf at Morgenster, school head Mr Kudakwashe Rugare said there was need to be sensitive to the plight of people living with disability.

He challenged Government to THE Great Zimbabwe Monuments World Heritage Site is under threat from the Lantana Camara plant which is invading the tourist attraction site, threatening its firmness and splendour.

The National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, with support from the US-funded Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), has since embarked on a programme to contain the plant and restore the site’s status as an acclaimed World Heritage Site. introduce rebates on imported assisting devices.

“We appeal to Government to scrap duty on imported assistive devices, as in the case of cars which come into the country on zero deposits if they are meant for persons with disability,” said Mr Rugare.

He said most assistive devices for the deaf were too expensive and the school was depending on well-wishers as some parents had challenges in paying fees for their children.

“Our school has a challenge because some of the devices like computers specifically designed for deaf pupils and some visual aids are not there. Flashing devices like doorbells, which alert the deaf or hard of hearing person that there is someone on the door are not locally available. They are found outside the country and need foreign currency. Some devices cost about US$2 000.”

Mr Rugare said disability issues deserved to be given due attention by the Government as part of efforts to promote inclusivity, adding that teachers’ colleges and universities were supposed to have courses in sign language.

“We have more qualified teachers in special needs education in the country, but we cannot have them here,” he said. “Despite having degrees, some with master’s degrees, a few, if any, can be able to communicate with our deaf pupils.

“This is because they do not know sign language and if it is made compulsory in colleges and universities, we can have the right people with the relevant skills.”

School chaplin Reverend Mary Chipoka-Zenda, who is also deaf, said sign language was not uniform across nations, hence the need to synchronise it.

“Our language is not uniform, hence the need to pool resources so that a dictionary in sign language is written, for the global audience,” she said.

“I trained at a theological college in Cape Town, South Africa, and observed the difference.

“There is a need for the synchronisation of the vocabulary around sign language.”

Dr Malinga said Government was committed to addressing existing gaps in disability issues through the disability Bill.

“A number of things on disability are going to be looked into during the crafting of a Bill on disability,” he said.

“I am happy to announce that we have secured funding of more than US$50 000 to start crafting the Bill and we have signed a contract with a South African-based Zimbabwean lady.

“The process is already in motion and early next year, we will have this Bill debated in Parliament.”