By Opiyo Oloya
There are many issues that need to be addressed by candidates vying for votes in the next Uganda election.
There will be campaign promises made, voters wooed with vision of manna falling from heaven, all the ills of society banished for good in favour of the beautiful life of perpetual happiness.
But that is not reality and many of those making the promises will be the first to run for cover when the constituents show up to demand they deliver the promised goods.
Giving opportunity for people with disability was brought to my attention by Edgar Bwire, a candidate running in the next election to represent people with disabilities (PWD) in the next parliament.
Edgar who is deaf had the support of his family while completing school and, later, attaining the many high goals he set for himself as a young man. But he is concerned that not every person with disability has the opportunity he had.
He wrote, “At 30, I have discovered many challenges that we face as people with disabilities that are accelerated by poor representation in parliament. Most of our incumbent MPs have been in parliament for over 20 years but despite of the fact that we PWDs are the minority group we are still lagging behind in many areas.”
Bwire is right. There are, indeed, many Ugandans, young and old, whose disabilities continue to pose barriers to education, good jobs and even simple amenities in society.
A disabled person in a wheelchair looking for a restaurant to enjoy a meal in any big city or town in Uganda will have to keep on looking for a long while.
There are few, if any restaurants that are wheelchair accessible. The day will also dawn and set without a blind or visually-impaired person navigating a big city like Kampala without the help of someone physically leading them around. That is because the streets are not friendly to those who cannot see.
Moreover, the attitude is wrong that suggests that the work of educating, training and even providing jobs for persons with disabilities must be left to non-governmental organisations coming from abroad.
The same attitude says that the person with paralysis of the limbs should find a sponsor abroad to get a wheelchair.
Those people from Europe, after all, are rich enough to devote some of their wealth to the weak, the downtrodden and the disabled in Uganda.
But leaving the important work of catering for the disabled to the generosity of foreigners coming to our country is the height of shirking responsibilities.
Understandably, the job market is thin even for the abled-bodied people. Yet, even for jobs that can be performed by disabled persons, employers often clamp up when the disabled person applies for the position.
In Uganda, people with disabilities are still viewed as not capable of performing task as able-bodied persons. Why can’t the person in the wheelchair be a bank teller or financial adviser?
What stops a talented deaf person from working as an interior designer or any number of jobs where one can express one’s abilities not one’s disabilities?
After all, the bank teller job requires brainpower and can be done by anyone including the person who cannot walk.
It is a question of making the opportunity available to all qualified persons without distinction.
The simple point is this. Barriers are not insurmountable. Uganda must start bringing down the barriers that discriminate against PWDs.
The first step toward fewer hurdles for the disabled is to talk about them and find out what they need to see changed.
This election provides the perfect opportunity for politicians to pronounce what each plans to do to combat discrimination due to disabilities.
As they move through these election cycle, candidates from all political parties must pledge to speak at least once about disability issues at a public rally and that, once elected, they are committed to use their good offices to create new opportunities for those who suffer in silence because of disabilities.
Legislations banning discrimination based on disabilities must be enacted, forcing employers to be accountable for actively looking to employ people with disabilities.
The measure of progress of a nation, after all, cannot and should never be about creating more jobs for the abled citizens only, but for every person to enjoy the fruits of progress.
By insisting that we talk about disability issues, Bwire has ensured that the problem is not lost in the noise that comes with big election campaigns.
He may be a deaf person, but he has demonstrated extraordinary abilities, first, by overcoming his own limitations and, secondly, by rising higher above his own personal needs to advocate about those of others.
He is the one saying to all Ugandans, “Hey, look, if we must move together as a nation, let’s bring along our disabled persons too.”
He is right on the money.
