DEPUTY MINISTER TO HAND OVER REPORT OF PUBLIC HEARINGS ON DRAFT POLICY ON SERVICES TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN KZN

• Public inputs on the draft policy on social development services to persons with disabilities have been distilled into a high-level action plan.
• The report on the public consultations in KwaZulu-Natal will be formally handed over by the Deputy Minister Of Social Development, Ganief Hendricks, to Social Development MEC Mbali Shinga.
• The report advocates for investment in education, capacity-building, skills development, employment, and funding opportunities for persons with disabilities.

Deputy Minister of Social Development Ganief Hendricks will be in KwaZulu-Natal today, 25 March 2025, to officially hand over the provincial report on the public consultations into the development of the draft policy on social development services to persons with disabilities.

The report will be presented to the KwaZulu-Natal MEC of Social Development, Mbali Shinga.

The report highlights province-specific inputs that were received during the public consultations into the development of the draft, which was approved by the Cabinet in 2023.

The public inputs have been distilled into a high-level action plan against which all provincial governments are required to provide progress reports.  

The report advocates for the government to invest in education, capacity-building, skills development, employment, and funding opportunities for persons with disabilities.

It also calls for the provision of assistive devices, including wheelchairs and hearing aids.

According to the 2022 census data, around 3.3 million people identified as persons with disabilities, the majority of which are females at 8.3% compared to males at 6.5%.

The handover forms part of the Department of Social Development’s Human Rights Month activities which are taking place under the theme ‘Deepening a culture of social justice and human rights’, which seeks to advance the rights of all South Africans, including persons with disabilities.

Human Rights Month presents an opportune moment to reflect on how far we have come in prompting and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities in South Africa.

The Bill of Rights, in Chapter 2 of the South African Constitution, is a human rights charter that guarantees all people in South Africa social, political, and socio-economic rights. These rights include equality, human dignity, freedom of movement and residence, and language and culture.

The Constitution obligates the state to respect, promote, protect, and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights, including the rights of persons with disabilities. It does so through the legal framework which creates primary responsibilities on key government departments to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities, giving effect to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, of which South Africa is a signatory.

The Department of Social Development is one of the lead government departments that render prevention and early intervention, including residential and alternative care and support services to persons with disabilities.

The official handover of the report will be followed by interaction with organisations representing persons with disabilities.

Recently, the Department of Social Development in collaboration with the Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities convened a two-day consultative session on the Disability Rights Bill.

A first for South Africa, the Disability Rights Bill, formally called the Promotion of Equality and Protection Against Discrimination of Persons with Disabilities Bill, seeks to advance and safeguard the rights of all persons with disabilities, promote equality, dignity, and effective inclusion, as well as address discrimination.