Sihlalo. Ngqongqoshe, uma kwenziwa lolo cwaningo, ingabe umnyango wakho uzithinta ngqo yini izinhlaka kanye nezinhlangano zabantu abaphila noku khubazeka njengokulandela isiqubulo sabo esithi: "Akukho okuyokhulunywa ngathi ngaphandle kwethu"; ukuze kubonakale ukuthi lolo cwaningo lwenzelwa bona laba bantu abaphila nokukhubazeka ngesimo nangemsebenzi, kodwa alwenzelwa abantu abangakhubazekile? Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Mr D D GAMEDE: Chairperson. Hon Minister, when you conducted that assessment, did your department directly consult with the structures as well as the organisations which deal with people living with disabilities in line with their slogan which says: "Nothing about us without us"; so that it can be evident that this assessment is conducted specifically for people who are living with disabilities and their work, and not for people who are not living with disabilities? Thank you.]
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Chairperson, I appreciate the comments that have been made, and they have been noted. We must emphasise the fact that the critical role of this new department will also be to oversee what other departments are doing in mainstreaming and ensuring that issues of people living with disabilities are addressed. So, that one is in the pipeline as we form the new department.
But, this is also linked to the question that has been asked in terms of the assessment and so on. This is because if one looks at the last 15 years, for instance, as a country we set ourselves a target of 2% for the employment of people with disabilities. What we have achieved thus far is far less than what we sought to do, and it remains at 0,2%. Therefore, we need to work on the kind of assessment that Mr Gumede is talking about so that everybody can come to the party.
We also need to assess the kind of work the private sector is doing. We need to find out how many people with disabilities there are in the private sector, for instance, and what the plans are that they are putting into place and so on. So,...
... ngiyavuma ukuthi lo msebenzi kudingeka ukuthi wenziwe. [... I agree that this job must be done.]
I also wish to emphasise the point that this is not just the responsibility of government, but it is also the responsibility of this House to ensure that it plays its oversight role to ensure that the objectives we have set to ensure that people with disabilities are given the space and the capacity to play a role in the economy and the transformation of our country are met. Thank you.