PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES’ OUTCRY OVER ‘LESS’ ELECTIONS JOBS

MBABANE – There is an outcry from people with disabilities (PWDs) over the 80 elections jobs reserved for them.

Organisations of PWDs have voiced out their dissatisfaction about the number of vacancies that had been availed by the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) for their members. The organisations’ representatives were speaking during a consultative meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister’s (DPM) Office, EBC, Federation of the Disabled in Swaziland (FODSWA), as well as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The aim of the consultative meeting was to forge ways to increase the participation of differently abled persons in the 2023 General Elections and beyond.

The meeting came just two days after His Majesty King Mswati III addressed the nation at Sibaya and advised that they should also elect people with disabilities in order to allow a fair representation in political decisions of the country.

Population

Worth noting is that 16 per cent of the world’s population, that is 1.3 billion people, have disabilities. In Eswatini, persons with disabilities make up 13 per cent of the population, which translates to 146 554, with over 80 per cent of them coming from rural areas. National statistics show that 51 per cent have no formal qualifications, while 85 per cent are unemployed. Around 22 000 of them registered for the 2023 General Elections.

During the meeting, EBC Commissioner Dr Njabu Dlamini told the stakeholders that for the elections, the EBC availed 80 elections jobs, strictly for people with disabilities. She said this was one of several ways the EBC was ensuring that those with disabilities were not left out and were given the same opportunities like the rest of emaSwati.  “We have 80 vacancies for PWDs that should come from across the country’s four regions,” she said.

Stakeholders

While some of the stakeholders felt that was a brilliant move by the EBC - to give jobs to this marginalised group - the organisations’ representatives were not pleased at all. The reason for their displeasure was that the 80 vacancies were not even half of the vacancies availed in 2018. They noted that the number of vacancies declined during every election year. FODSWA President Bongani Makama was among the stakeholders who raised concerns about the ever declining number of vacancies. Makama said he was worried that in the next election cycle, the numbers would be even lower than the 80. He highlighted that during the 2013 General Elections, there were 300 election jobs for PWDs. Makama said in 2018, the vacancies reserved for people with disabilities were slashed to 200.

“I am afraid that in 2028, the vacancies will be cut to 30,” he said. The stakeholders further noted that it was disappointing that the employment opportunities were getting slimmer every cycle. They noted that a number of their members were unemployed and they normally got something going for themselves during the elections. Worth noting, FODSWA is made up of five organisations that have members scattered across the country.  The EBC has over 500 polling stations in over 300 imiphakatsi. The representatives said it was impossible to have a person with a disability hired in every umphakatsi because the numbers were strictly limited and every community had a person with a disability in the country.

Makama stressed the importance of having election observers who have disabilities. He said those election observers would note the gaps. According to Makama, most countries had observers with disabilities. FODSWA Executive Secretary Grace Bhembe said it was painful for them to note that the EBC continued to reduce the number of their members among the elections staff.

Bhembe said what displeased them the most was that they had noted that there were people who were already employed by some government departments and ministries who also scored jobs at EBC. She noted that inasmuch as the disability community had less literate people, but even their educated members were struggling to get employment yet there were able-bodied people who were also working at the EBC, leaving PWDs to suffer even more.

“EBC, more especially the elections jobs, should not be for people who are already employed but the unemployed should be prioritised,” she said.
In response, the EBC commissioner told the stakeholders that the commission had a number of responsibility areas that stretched their budget.
“We understand your concerns but this year there were a lot of budget constraints,” said Dr Dlamini.

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