MASVINGO- The 2023 harmonised elections have 0,3% People Living With Disabilities (PWDs) nominated to stand for council, Parliament, Senate and Proportional Representation seats, according to Masimba Kuchera a visually impaired consultant.
Kuchera said that about 6 000 candidates were nominated for all houses in the harmonized elections with the bulk coming from local authorities where there are at least 3 500. And out of the 6 000, a paltry 20 (PWDs) were nominated.
Kuchera said this at a 4-H Zimbabwe Foundation workshop held in Masvingo last week.
He attributed the low participation levels by PWDs to fear of political violence, discrimination by their different political parties and challenges in accessing venues for political gatherings.
He said that PWDs are peripherally involved when it comes to positions and decisions of influence where development is concerned.
The three-day youth peace election monitors training program was attended by youth from Zanu PF, Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), MDC, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) and Labour Economist and Afrikan Democrats (LEAD) among others.
Civic Society Organisations (CSOs) also attended the workshop.
Kuchera decried the absence of a policy on a quota for PWDs as is provided for women and youth.
“People with disabilities want to participate in political processes, they have membership with different political parties and they also want to be candidates but the issue of violence draws them back. We are also affected by discrimination from political entities themselves. We sometimes fail to access venues of important gatherings, access information and communication.
“People with disabilities are still peripherally involved especially when it comes to positions and decisions of influence where development is concerned. What should be noted is that people we are not a homogeneous group, they are a combination of people with various impairments,” said Kuchera.
He called for a quota that will ensure reasonable inclusion in political processes.
“There is no policy around the general elections that stipulate a percentage to which people with disabilities must constitute but there is the National Disability Policy which was launched by the President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2021. The Policy envisages that people with disabilities must constitute 15 per cent of the participants in any program which include employment and political participation.
“Proportional Representation is 60 for women and they are also part of the ZEBRA system in the Senate which ensures women involvement. We also have the youth quota where each province yields one candidate. These quotas are silent on either women or young people with disabilities and as a result they are left out,” said Kuchera.
The training program’s objectives were to equip young people with basic skills in peace and governance, ascertain tolerance, social interaction and team building during and after elections.
CCC Harare youth quota candidate and national youth leader Takudzwa Ngadziore said his party has authored a document promoting the inclusion of PWDs. The document is yet to be launched.
“As for CCC, we have a document which caters for the PWDs and is yet to be launched. The contents in the document highlight that they should be included in political processes and that Government should make sure that it provides for leadership responsibilities so that they know the terrain we operate in among other provisions,” said Ngadziore.
Youths For Innovation Trust (YIT) Managing Director Thando Gwinji said CSOs have quotas catering for PWDs whenever they hold different activities.
“As CSOs, we have managed to have those quotas to say if we are inviting people to a particular activity, at least include people from the PWD community and have a column where they are represented. I still feel we can do more in terms of eliminating the structures that make it difficult for PWD to be in spaces without necessarily being invited as a special group, the quota system they are currently using,” said Gwinji.
Source Masvingo Mirror
