Windhoek
The Namibian government has the needs of the disabled at heart, which is the reason President Hage Geingob instituted the Ministry of Disability Affairs under the office of the Vice President.
Deputy Minister of Disability Affairs in the Office of the Vice President Alexia Manombe-Ncube expressed these views recently when she addressed the first ministerial meeting on disability at which the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Disability Mainstreaming was also launched.
The aim of the high-level meeting was to coordinate mainstreaming across government offices, ministries and agencies in order to realign local policies with international and national policy requirements. She said to mitigate and prevent the further marginalisation of people with disabilities, President Geingob created the office of disability affairs, which she heads.
Her mandate is to strengthen and coordinate the implementation of policies and legal frameworks in relation to disability issues, she pointed out. “We want all people with disabilities, regardless of race, creed or circumstance, to achieve their full potential. Our task here is to make it possible.
This year has been declared by our President as a year of implementation, so prepare yourself to be challenged, excited and inspired, all policies and Acts in place need implementation,” she stated.
The Namibian government has the following legal framework in place to safeguard the rights and equalise the opportunities for persons with disabilities, namely the Constitution, Vision 2030, the National Agenda for Children 2012-2016, the National Policy on Disability of 1997, and the National Disability Council Act 26 of 2004, among others.
The Namibian government also ratified the United Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in April 2007, including its protocol in December that year, she stated.