RUNDU - The National Disability Council of Namibia (NDCN) conducted a consultative workshop in Rundu on Tuesday to discuss the Persons with Disabilities Draft Bill and the National Policy on Disability.

NDCN chief executive officer Angelique Philander said the consultations were prompted by an outdated national policy on disability established in 1997. 

The policy no longer aligns with the current needs and advancements of people living with disabilities, and the workshop’s objective is to develop a comprehensive and up-to-date national policy on disability.

“Namibia is taking issues pertaining to persons with disability very seriously because we recognise that persons with disabilities have strategic roles to play in the country’s national development and the attainment of national development goals, as set out in Vision 2030,” she added.

Philander stressed the necessity of collective efforts to fast-track the implementation and domestication of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This will help to break down barriers hindering persons with disabilities from becoming active participants in society.

“In existing legislative frameworks, the rights and needs of persons with disabilities are not comprehensively protected. Thus, the NDCN embarked on this process of developing the Persons with Disability Bill, which will repeal the National Disability Council of Namibia’s Act of 2004,” she noted.

Kavango East regional governor Bonny Wakudumo said in a statement read on his behalf that these consultations aim to not only ensure Namibia’s compliance with international obligations, but also to guarantee the necessary protection for persons with disabilities in the country. -Nampa