PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

1. PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION Mr Mzolisi ka Toni Deputy Director General Children’s Rights and People with Disabilities 29 February 2012 Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

2. OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION • Establishment and Mandate of Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities (DWCPD) • Accelerating transformation of the Public Service • Opportunities • Strengthening Accountability and Compliance Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DWCPD BACKGROUND 1995 – 1997: Establishment of Disability Programme in the then Reconstruction and Development Ministry • White Paper on an Integrated National Disability Strategy (1997), released, now based on principles and provisions of Constitution of South Africa (1996) Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

4. ESTABLISHMENT OF DWCPD BACKGROUND 1997 – 2009 : Establishment of the Office on the Status of Disabled Persons (OSDP) in the Presidency • Entrenching the right of persons with disabilities to equality in law • Establishment of Government Machinery that promotes the rights of persons with disabilities • Establishment of disability policy framework • Mainstreaming of disability into sector legislation and policies • Mainstreaming of disability into governance structures at all spheres of government • Adoption of Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

5. ESTABLISHMENT OF DWCPD MANDATE 2009: Establishment of the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities The mandate of the department is to consolidate and coordinate the government agenda on the vulnerable groups • to advance, develop, promote and protect • the rights of women, children and people with disabilities • through mainstreaming, lobbying, advocacy, awareness raising, empowerment and • monitoring compliance in government and all relevant sectors Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

6. DWCPD STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES • To contribute to the progressive realisation of the rights of people with disabilities by raising awareness of the status and rights of people with disabilities, and by developing and popularising norms and standards for mainstreaming of disability considerations into legislation, policies and programmes through consultative processes. • To enable public and private sector institutions to progressively deliver on the realisation of the rights of people with disabilities by establishing institutional mechanisms, as well as by facilitating and/or providing institutional support and training. • To monitor, evaluate and report on progress and impact made on the progressive realisation of rights of people with disabilities through an integrated monitoring and evaluation system. Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

7. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK • Focusing the work of the DWCPD on monitoring exclusion and inequality and intervening accordingly • Strengthening Provincial Offices on the Status of Disabled Persons • Reviewing Departments’ Disability Policies, Focal Points & Units • Restructuring the National Disability Machinery • ‘Partnering’ with Department of Public Service and Administration, Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, National Planning Commission, National Treasury • Partnering with International Agencies • Partnering with Research Institutions • Partnering with Organisations of Disabled Persons Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

8. ACCELERATING TRANSFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

9. OPPORTUNITY 1: UTILISING VACANCIES TO REACH 2% What will the Department be doing differently? Partnering with Department of Public Service and Administration to • Analyse the funded vacancies in all national and provincial departments • Head-hunting – consolidation of a database • Ring-fencing positions • Strengthen quarterly monitoring of progress • Roll out utilisation of Department of Labour Technical Guidelines Partnering with PALAMA and Department of Public Service and Administration to roll-out 2 day/5 day disability management, planning and responsive budgeting Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

10. OPPORTUNITY 2: RETAINING EMPLOYEES WITH DISABILITIES What will the Department be doing differently? • Facilitate for mainstreaming disability considerations into the public service retention strategy • Roll out utilisation of Department of Labour Technical Guidelines • Ensure the finalisation and costing of the reasonable accommodation strategy • Facilitate finalisation of access to assistive devices (with turnaround times) • Facilitate finalisation of access to personal assistance (in all classifications) • Linking the Department of Public Works Accessibility Fund to follow employee with disabilities • Facilitate finalisation of costing of JobAccess Strategy • Facilitate alignment of reasonable accommodation, occupational health and safety, employee wellness and performance management programmes • Accelerate establishment of National Disability Forum Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

11. OPPORTUNITY 3: LOWERING COST AND INCREASE AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTIVE DEVICES • Engage Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, South African Bureau of Standards, State Information Technology Agency and South African Disability Alliance to • Break monopolies in both Information and Communication Technology and hardware • Increase range of products available through government procurement system • Encourage development of new software • Facilitate development of central register for second-hand assistive devices and mobility between departments of these assets Note: Most assistive devices are provided by sole providers, which means that procurement turn around time should be minimised Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

12. OPPORTUNITY 4: LEARNERSHIPS AND INTERNSHIPS The 4% target was a strategy to augment attainment of the 2%, yet despite the 2% not being met, young people with disabilities in learnerships and internships are exited from the public service • Providing young people with disabilities on learnerships and internships with assistive devices and other reasonable accommodation measures to improve performance and opportunities to be absorbed in the public service, thereby accelerating achievement of the 2% Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

13. OPPORTUNITY 5: STRENGTHEN ENFORCEMENT OF COMPLIANCE • The Willem Bosch judgment (2005) and Esthe Muller judgment (2004) upheld that, the courts and police stations be made accessible to people with disabilities. The underlying principle of accessibility is generally accepted and promoted through policy and legislation. • However, implementation for environmental transformation to create universal accessibility is not happening fast enough. Seven years after the Esthe Muller judgment and six years after the Willem Bosch judgment, the police stations and courts still remain inaccessible. Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

14. OPPORTUNITY 5: STRENGTHEN ENFORCEMENT OF COMPLIANCE • Link Monitoring & Evaluation with Accountability and Enforcement • Performance Agreements of all Senior Management Service members must integrate reasonable accommodation/universal access principles, and Accounting Officers should be penalised for lack of achievement of 2% target by March 2013 • Advocate for shifting burden of proof from employee/job-seeker to employer • Advocate for the establishment of an Inspectorate for reasonable accommodation compliance • Advocate for an Appeal/Mediation Mechanism • Facilitate review of departmental employment equity plans and monitoring compliance • NAME AND SHAME Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

15. HOW WILL WE ACHIEVE THIS? • Engage with all Human Resource Managers both nationally and provincially • Engage with all Chief Financial Officers both nationally and provincially • Engage Forum of South African Directors General (FOSAD) • Engage provincial Inter-Government Relations political structures • Restructure the Disability Machinery to include district municipalities • Strengthen Monitoring &Evaluation systems Focus of these engagements will be to fill all funded vacancies with a disability lens, and to improve retention of employees with disabilities Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

16. WHAT IS ‘REASONABLE’? • Balancing empowerment without creating dependency, and avoiding alienation and resistance • Example: Transport between home and work Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

17. DIS-INCENTIVE TO WORK DUE TO ADDITIONAL DISABILITY COSTS • Basket of benefits that comes with disability grant • Additional costs of working from home • Lack of flexi working hours Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu

18. TOWARDS A SOCIETY FOR ALL:GOING FORWARD AS PARTNERS COMMITTED TO EQUALITY, EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE Thank you Approved by Deputy Minister HI Bogopane-Zulu