Countrywide census on disabled kicks off
A wide-ranging questionnaire to be completed by all government and municipal institutions as well as private institutions was launched yesterday with the goal of gaining an overview of compliance and implementation of polices for the disabled.
The National Disability Council of Namibia is spearheading the maiden gathering of data via the just-launched Disability Annual Monitoring Report, which all government ministries and institutions, and members of the private sector, have to complete before end of April 2017.
Tobias Mwaudikange, the chairperson of the disability council yesterday said that the disability annual monitoring report, which consists of a number of questionnaires, is part of the council’s task to provide a holistic and comprehensive status of people living with disabilities in Namibia.
He said the report hopes to shed light on the overall livelihoods of disabled people “in all spheres of life, such as political, economic, social and cultural.”
Mwaudikange yesterday said the disability council’s primary role is to monitor the mainstreaming of disability issues by government, a function the report will help fulfil.
The annual monitoring report will collect a wide array of information, as per the provisions of Section 3 of the council’s enabling Act.
Copies of the questionnaire will be available on the NDCN website or at the offices of the council in Windhoek.
Principal of Dagbreek School in Windhoek, Paul du Plessis yesterday said the move to gather information on the integration and policies aimed at assisting disabled persons in the country, is more than welcome.
“It will assist greatly in planning for the future, and to see where we really stand in terms of disabled members of the community. Such a report could help indicate if we need to build more schools for the disabled for instance,” Du Plessis said.
He added that gathering of this data would immensely help identify employment opportunities for disabled persons and to help provide a purpose in their life.
“This is a good start,” he said.
Petra Dillmann of Special Disability Services Namibia agrees.
“We welcome the move and while it will take some time get the information compiled, we certainly need it. It is our hope that the council will work together with the results and information complied in the national census,” she told Namibian Sun.
The disability annual monitoring booklet consists of four parts, and various institutions are instructed to complete different parts.
The first part of the booklet must be completed by all participants in the survey, including government offices and agencies, local authorities, regional authorities, state owned enterprises and the private sector.
Part two of the booklet is aimed at specific ministries and the national assembly and national council.
Part three requires municipalities, town councils and village councils to respond to questions while part four is aimed at all 14 regional councils.
The census also fulfils Namibia’s obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability and the Continental Plan of Action for the Africa Decade of Persons with disabilities.
The first section of the monitoring booklet, to be completed by all institutions, collects general information on the type of disabilities within an organisation, the number of disabled employed in the organisation and requests information on wage scales for disabled personnel versus all personnel.
The questionnaire furthermore requires a list of policies, programmes and action plans for disabled employees in the work place and the various efforts organisation undergo to raise awareness, recruit or promote disabled employees and more.
Part Two of the monitoring booklet is aimed at relevant government ministries, including the Ministry of Land Reform and Resettlement, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health among others.
Questions are aimed specifically at the roles each ministry plays and their provisions for disabled members of society.
The questionnaire, among several other points, asks that the ministries provide feedback on budgets, including money set aside in government offices by the Ministry of Economic Planning that was earmarked for disability programmes.
The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development is required to list how many houses were specifically earmarked for possible occupants with disabilities in all municipal, town and village areas within each region.
The act requires that the council monitor “the implementation of the national policy on disability by the various offices, ministries and agencies of government.”
JANA-MARI SMITH
The National Disability Council of Namibia is spearheading the maiden gathering of data via the just-launched Disability Annual Monitoring Report, which all government ministries and institutions, and members of the private sector, have to complete before end of April 2017.
Tobias Mwaudikange, the chairperson of the disability council yesterday said that the disability annual monitoring report, which consists of a number of questionnaires, is part of the council’s task to provide a holistic and comprehensive status of people living with disabilities in Namibia.
He said the report hopes to shed light on the overall livelihoods of disabled people “in all spheres of life, such as political, economic, social and cultural.”
Mwaudikange yesterday said the disability council’s primary role is to monitor the mainstreaming of disability issues by government, a function the report will help fulfil.
The annual monitoring report will collect a wide array of information, as per the provisions of Section 3 of the council’s enabling Act.
Copies of the questionnaire will be available on the NDCN website or at the offices of the council in Windhoek.
Principal of Dagbreek School in Windhoek, Paul du Plessis yesterday said the move to gather information on the integration and policies aimed at assisting disabled persons in the country, is more than welcome.
“It will assist greatly in planning for the future, and to see where we really stand in terms of disabled members of the community. Such a report could help indicate if we need to build more schools for the disabled for instance,” Du Plessis said.
He added that gathering of this data would immensely help identify employment opportunities for disabled persons and to help provide a purpose in their life.
“This is a good start,” he said.
Petra Dillmann of Special Disability Services Namibia agrees.
“We welcome the move and while it will take some time get the information compiled, we certainly need it. It is our hope that the council will work together with the results and information complied in the national census,” she told Namibian Sun.
The disability annual monitoring booklet consists of four parts, and various institutions are instructed to complete different parts.
The first part of the booklet must be completed by all participants in the survey, including government offices and agencies, local authorities, regional authorities, state owned enterprises and the private sector.
Part two of the booklet is aimed at specific ministries and the national assembly and national council.
Part three requires municipalities, town councils and village councils to respond to questions while part four is aimed at all 14 regional councils.
The census also fulfils Namibia’s obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability and the Continental Plan of Action for the Africa Decade of Persons with disabilities.
The first section of the monitoring booklet, to be completed by all institutions, collects general information on the type of disabilities within an organisation, the number of disabled employed in the organisation and requests information on wage scales for disabled personnel versus all personnel.
The questionnaire furthermore requires a list of policies, programmes and action plans for disabled employees in the work place and the various efforts organisation undergo to raise awareness, recruit or promote disabled employees and more.
Part Two of the monitoring booklet is aimed at relevant government ministries, including the Ministry of Land Reform and Resettlement, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health among others.
Questions are aimed specifically at the roles each ministry plays and their provisions for disabled members of society.
The questionnaire, among several other points, asks that the ministries provide feedback on budgets, including money set aside in government offices by the Ministry of Economic Planning that was earmarked for disability programmes.
The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development is required to list how many houses were specifically earmarked for possible occupants with disabilities in all municipal, town and village areas within each region.
The act requires that the council monitor “the implementation of the national policy on disability by the various offices, ministries and agencies of government.”
JANA-MARI SMITH
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