Windhoek
Government is set to introduce a new grant that is aimed at rewarding parents/caregivers of people living with disabilities, Deputy Minister in the Office of the Vice-President Responsible for Disability Affairs, Alexia Manombe-Ncube, revealed last week.
Speaking to New Era, Manombe-Ncube said there are currently caregivers or parents caring for people living with disabilities 24 hours preventing them from getting jobs and they too deserve grants.
According to her, she is currently busy lobbying for such grants. “As you know that our ministry is new and this might take a little bit longer but I can assure you this grant is on the cards,” she said.
“We are currently consulting with all relevant stakeholders so that we can reward these people,” she added.
“Government already provides numerous grants and services to assist the poor and the vulnerable but we know we can and must do better,” she stressed.
Furthermore, Manombe-Ncube also revealed that her ministry is currently operating with five staff members that include two drivers and a secretary, personal assistant and one support staff.
Meanwhile, a recent disability report by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) indicates that the number of people living with disabilities increased from 42 932 in 1991, to 85 567 in 2001 and 98 413 in 2011.
For the first time, the NSA has released an in-depth report on people with disabilities, using data from the 2011 Population and Housing Census.
According to the report, there were more females (51 125) than males (48 288) living with disabilities.
Of the 98 413 people with disabilities, 18 090 have physical impairment and 16 189 have visual impairment.
Regarding the marital status of the people living with disabilities, the report says 47 percent of the population aged between 15 years and above were never married.
According to the report, the proportion of people with disabilities who were in a consensual union has increased from 6.2 percent in 2001 to 10.3 percent in 2011.
The report also shows that 62.4 percent of households of people with disabilities had no toilet facilities. This situation is more prevalent in rural areas with 78.9 percent, compared to urban areas with 25.6 percent.