. Lungu

WE join the many Zambians in congratulating President Edgar Lungu for scooping the January 20, 2015 presidential election, we also remember President Michael Chilufya Sata as a friend of the disabled.
As a disability expert,  I followed the campaigns with keen interest and I am happy to say that President Lungu mentioned how his Government will address the plight of persons with disabilities.
My advice to President Lungu is that disability administration should be removed from the Ministry of Community Development Mother and Child Health to his office for effective disability management and administration.
This decision will bring disability at the centre stage of Government agenda through proper mainstreaming of disability development for poverty reduction.
Government must accept that disability management has failed for the past 23 years because of lack of political will at higher level as compared to the time of His Excellency Kenneth David Kaunda whose Government had the plight of the disabled at State house.
I am confident that President Lungu will perform to our expectation because the Patriotic Front
Manifesto has a Disability Chapter which gives Party vision to address the plight of persons
with disability and all what is needed is to translate the Chapter into programmes and policies  and ensure that mainstreaming disability dimension  is at the centre of development for poverty reduction but this can only work when disability administration is placed in the office of the President in terms of policy direction and enforcement if Zambian is to achieve real mainstreaming of disability.
Below is our proposal;
The National Policy Framework
As said earlier, remove disability administration from the Minister of Community Development Mother and Child Health and place it in his office of the president as the standard is in the region.
Secondly, review the current draft National Disability policy and immediately present it to Cabinet for approval after aligning it to Disability Act number 6 of 2012 and United Nation Convention on the rights of the disabled.
The National Disability Policy should also address the following main principles
1. The right of persons with disabilities to equality, Zambia, being a member State of the United Nations and the SADC must be committed to promoting a society for all.
In Zambia, the principle of non-discrimination of people with disabilities is enshrined in the Constitution and Disability Act there is a need to enforce it.
2. The right of persons with disabilities to inclusion, the preconditions for realization of the inclusion of persons with disabilities are e.g.: positive attitudes; taking into account their needs; identification of barriers; that restrict their inclusion; and the elimination of such barriers.
Consequently, action is needed to remove such barriers for mainstreaming.

3. The right of people with disabilities to necessary services and supportive measures. Services and supportive measures are positive targeted measures for ensuring equality.
President Lungu should appoint Inter ministerial Task Force and change Zambia Agency for persons with Disabilities (ZAPD) to be Commission for persons with Disabilities in which the Director General and Commissioner shall be appointed by the President.
That way he will have a responsibility to design a plan of action and monitor the implementing of the Commission.
Through wide consultations with all relevant stakeholders, the Task Force will produce a detailed Programme of action that assigned responsibilities all Government Ministries and Department to promote the rights, equality and non-discrimination of People with Disabilities (PWD) to all Ministries and sectors in line with their mandates for serving on equal basis.
This “sector responsibility” principle implies the responsibility to integrate disability issues in the main stream of policies and practice of all sectors rather than handling disability as a matter of social welfare sector or charity but as a developmental agenda in all Ministries and departments.
The President should first address the born defect of the agency by restructuring the agency and reposition it for better service delivery to our people.
This has been done by this Government and this decision was supposed to be done 23 years ago
if our new Government seek to be a disability friendly Government.
I say so because Zambians are aware that for the past 23 years disability administration has been placed in the ministry of Community development Mother and Child Health which has completely failed.
All centres and farms currently for the disabled are programmes of left by United Independence
party (UNIP) Government and no one can show any successful MMD Government and Patriotic Front (PF) Government driven disability programmes.
They only changed the name from Zambia Council for the Handicapped to the agency under Disability Act number 33 of 1996 under MMD and Disability Act 6 of 2012 under PF Government nothing more.
The President must follow what PF Government has stated in the area of disability and this is timely advice to Government restructuring for better service delivery to persons with disabilities.
Honestly speaking, we need a listening President and we are luck that President Lungu promised to be a listening President who will be accessible to Zambian people.
The next decision President must do is to advise Minister of Justice to review Disability Act number 6 of
2012 with a view to bring three Government Disability institutions under one board for effective and efficient disability administration and broaden Board representation.
This has worked well in other African countries where disability is in the office of the President or Prime Minister.
It has also worked very well in South Africa where disability administration is in the office of the President under the department Women, youths and people with disabilities and Botswana respectively which I will talk about next week.
When our President moves Disability administration to his office, it will answer 23 years of try and error disability administration in Zambia.
The new President should not listen to theories which will come from people who do not understanding cross cutting disability management and want to turn Government disability administration into disabled people’s Organisation (DPOs).
The new Government  must provide leadership and should not entertain vocal disabled groups who have contributed to the challenges Government is facing today in providing service to disabled people.
The new Cabinet must review all laws and statues governing disability administration in Zambia and align them to united nations convention on the rights of the disabled (UNCRPD) and the new Government should ensure that all Disability institution established by are management by qualified and experienced people.
This can only be achieved by advertising vacancy positions and appointing people because they are known to them. It is a fact that disability management and administration has failed because it is in the wrong ministry and people are appointed by faces.
Personally, I have associated myself with Zambia council for the Handicapped which is now called Zambia Agency for persons with disabilities since when I was 4 years old, I know it better.
I have seen it at its peak when volunteers from Finland where providing technical support and I have seen it at knelling point. The current ministry which is charged with the responsibility of disability
administration has failed.
The disabilities administration must be cross-cutting that is each ministry or agency of Government must have a component of disability within department or ministry activities supervised by agency responsible for the oversight and coordination of all services and supports provided by qualified people.
The new President should support individuals with disabilities to have the most independent and choose their own lives through person-centered service planning and delivery and increased provider capacity.

If disability administration is placed in the Office of the President, disability issues will have presidential authority to influence policy direction at ministry level and reduce the number person with disabilities in
our streets.
Real disability administration will be seen by all when the new President gives power to Government Ministries to provide services to persons with disabilities and make them realise their dreams. In the spirit of Franklin Delano Roosevelt the 32nd President of United States of America who was the only president who entered white house with a physical disability.
He believed that physical disabilities hold no barriers to achievement. May this believe live that persons with disabilities in Zambia will not see disability as a barrier but a challenge and Let me end by appreciating the recognition bestowed me by Cheshire homes society of Zambia by appointing me as ambassador for fundraising.
The author is a Professor of Disability Studies at ICOF Colleges Seminary and Universities, Disability policy Analyst for SADC and Inclusive Development advisor to CDDRLP
For your letters please send to us on  Centre for Disability Zambia Office Cha Cha Cha Road P.O. BOX 34490  Lusaka, Zambia  Telephone: E-mail: Zambia@cddrlp.net +260211-238160
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