Disability sector voices frustration at National Dialogue for inclusion

PEOPLE with disabilities on Saturday complained bitterly about being ignored and not fully represented at the first national convention of the National Dialogue at the University of SAs main campus in Pretoria.

- LOYISO SIDIMBA [e-mail]

Members of President Cyril Ramaphosa’ Presidential Working Group on Disability expressed their unhappiness about the exclusion of representatives of the sector from gathering.

In letter read during the plenary, the working group stated that while it commended the vision behind the dialogue to foster unity, social cohesion and a renewed social compact, it was disheartened that voices from the disability sector appear to have been excluded from the process.

“We, the members of the Presidential Working Group on Disability, write to express our deep concerns regarding the lack of meaningful inclusion of persons with disabilities in the planning and leadership structures of the upcoming National Dialogue and its Eminent Persons Group (EPG),’ they noted.