Persons with disabilities face barriers on EMLM employment opportunities
Groblersdal
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality (EMLM) said it has written to the Municipal Manager, Walter Mohlala, to urge him to prioritise the employment of persons living with disabilities and to provide comprehensive information on the employment statistics in the municipality.
According to the party, the local municipality has more than 400 permanent staff members, however, none of them are people living with disabilities.
Sipho Mmaboko, DA Councillor in EMLM, said people living with disabilities are also neglected in the municipality’s Community Works Programme (CWP), which has also employed more than 1080 people and none are living with disability.
“The EPWP has also employed more than 470 people, but once again the municipality failed to employ any individuals living with disability,” said Mmaboko.
He indicated that they are worried that the municipality has recently employed a normal person as a Disability Coordinator without advertising the post.
“The municipality missed yet another opportunity to empower disabled people by appointing a person with disability who is familiar with the challenges they face. The continued disregard of people living with disabilities in the labour market is unfortunate and unacceptable. People living with disabilities must be employed on the basis of their capability and skills,” explained Mmaboko.
Mmaboko said as the country celebrated Human Rights Month in March and celebrating Freedom Month in April, the party is more concerned that people living with disabilities in the municipality are still largely excluded from the labour market and from participating in the economy. He said the municipality has also failed to provide effective support systems for disabled individuals.
He said the DA is committed to break the barriers and ensuring the integration of people living with disabilities into employment and economic opportunities in Elias Motsoaledi Municipality.
“ANC led Elias Motsoaledi Municipality’s failure to empower persons living with disabilities remains concerning,” he said.
At the time of going to press, EMLM Spokesperson, Simon Makua, could not respond to the publication’s queries when requesting a comment.
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