Sebenzile Matsebula of South Africa: A Voice in the Presidency

The nexus between the new political establishment in South Africa and the disability rights movement is a powerful force for change. And the chief agent of change is a single-minded woman, Sebenzile Matsebula, Director of the Office on the Status of Disabled People (OSDP) at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, seat of the South African government.

What is the purpose of the OSDP and how did it come about?

Both from the side of civil society and from that of government - but much more so from civil society - there was a recognized need for a coherent unit in the highest office in the country, a unit that would develop programmes to promote disability issues and facilitate the mainstreaming of disability in South Africa. During the reconstruction and development phase immediately after the democratic election in 1994 disabled people were deployed from the movement to work in the new Presidency. Those were the individuals who were responsible for setting up the unit for coordinating and mainstreaming.

The primary objective I would say was to ensure that disabled people were no longer shunted from pillar to post. If you had a particular need as a disabled person or as a parent of a child with a disability in the past you would be told to go to department A. You would go to department A and they would say go to department B, and you would spend the rest of your life shuffling between departments with no resources and no joy in sight. So this office has to ensure that that doesn't happen anymore. But also it has to ensure that departments that have line functions deliver on specific mandates, and deliver effectively.

Could you explain the structure of the office and tell us about the people who work here?

The Office on the Status of Disabled People resides within the policy unit of the Presidency. There are a number of management structures within the Presidency, and one of those is the policy unit. Within the policy unit the office is structured to address policy development, policy implementation, policy monitoring and evaluation.

The head of the programme is myself, as Director. Currently we have two posts of deputy director and they have specific portfolios as middle managers. One is a media liaison position and the other is a change management position coordinating our provincial and local government work; but many other responsibilities get delegated due to the human resource constraints that we have. We also have four administrative officers within the unit, two of whom are contract-based and donor-funded. And there is a senior secretary as well. To add to this, and depending on the projects being implemented, there could be one or two managers under contract. An example was the manager we had for economic empowerment. Another example right now is the communications manager who is responsible for implementing a public awareness campaign.

What have been the achievements of the OSDP?

Well, you could write a book about that; but let me pick up some highlights. There are several aspects: At government level one of our key successes has been the training in departments. When our new democracy started, a lot of posts were created to ensure the mainstreaming concept, and people were deployed into government departments to facilitate this mainstreaming. Those people would have had experience in social welfare, as teachers, and whatever, but they did not have experience or an understanding of disability. We then trained those people so that, as they discharged their duties, they had a clear understanding of disability as a concept, as a principle, and as a way of living.

That has been a very successful project because, besides creating awareness and making people do their work effectively, it has enabled us to gain allies in government. Because of their strong understanding of disability, these people have become passionate about their work and go out of their way to promote disability issues. So we now have what we call "focal persons", but they're actually allies that serve as our ears and eyes and inform us of what is going on and of any problems. If we need an entry point into a department, we know there is somebody who will work with us meaningfully.

And where have been your greatest successes?

With the majority of departments, and certainly with the key departments of health, social development, labour, education, trade and industry, communications. All those departments have been active and have participated. We haven't had as much luck with the Department of Transport, primarily because of their ever-happening restructuring. Whenever we make an attempt to train, they're restructuring and no one comes.

Then, that training has also been done with government departments at provincial level, which is even more significant because that's where delivery happens. And now we've moved on to local government - training for local councillors, primarily councillors with disabilities. Our feeling is, much as persons may have a disability, it doesn't necessarily mean that they will be able to articulate issues as effectively as we'd like them to do. And so we've empowered councillors to articulate the issues effectively.

Have there been any other achievements?

Our public awareness campaigns. We have had several initiatives - not on a large scale - when we would use particular events, like the World Summit on Sustainable Development, where we organized a photographic and art exhibition that generated a lot of interest with people coming from all over the world and they had the opportunity to interact with artists with disabilities and to purchase their creations. We have also used the International Day of Disabled Persons to put up a huge public awareness campaign. Before the actual day and on the actual day we would have radio campaigns, television campaigns, publications, etc. Historically, it wasn't as large as we're doing it now because now we have somebody focused on it.

Other achievements have been in terms of policy development. The Integrated National Disability Strategy came out of this office and that has served as a pillarstone for the promotion of disability rights. An offshoot of that policy has been other policies in various departments and we have guided the development of those policies. We've had major policies that have come out, for example on inclusive education, which was a major breakthrough. We were also involved in the development of legislation, such as the Anti-Discrimination Act and the Employment Equity Act, and we have made inputs in a number of ways.

Another initiative has been capacity-building for civil society formations. Because of our own background as disabled persons in this office, having come from that background, we know that a strong and effective civil society is one of the reasons why in South Africa we've been successful when it comes to issues of disability. Initially, we identified what we refer to as marginalized groups of disabled people, which would be groups that maybe reside in rural areas or groups of women with disabilities, and we provided capacity through training but also through grants that enabled them to develop their own programmes. That has really been very useful because, while some of those organizations would probably have died, they have been able to sustain themselves to some extent. How far they go really resides within themselves - how they're managing the future.

We have also had an exchange programme with our partners in Sweden where we had civil society groups from South Africa visit Sweden and vice versa. The objective there was not just to share our experiences, but to establish long-term relations, which is happening in some of the sectors, primarily the deafblind sector, where we still do have a great need to give support.

Some people say the disability rights movement in South Africa is running out of steam. Others say, no, it's changing in character. What do you say?

I would agree with the latter position. I think it's changing its character and it's because of where we are now. Certainly, we can't exist as a movement as we did ten or fifteen years ago. Now that the focus is changing towards delivery and implementation, the movement needs to focus on that; to say, okay, the foundation has been laid. Now we need to ensure that what disabled people fought and struggled for bears fruit in the sense that we have tangible things happening. We're no longer into philosophies and those kinds of discussion, but we're into how we're making a meaningful and tangible difference in peoples lives.

How did you first become involved with the movement?

I first got involved with the disability movement when I was still working in Swaziland. I remember having many interactions with yourself, Friday Mavuso, Maria Rantho - all those people that came out to Swaziland to create an awareness of this new shift in thinking. We had come from a culture of a welfare state, where disabled people were looked after and cared for by charities, by the good Samaritans. Then there was this movement, saying, in effect, "No, that actually isn't the right way...disabled people have a responsibility to effect changes in their own lives." That was my first exposure, which I must say was a wonderful exposure. I was involved with the sector from 1986 as a researcher - because I was trained in the sciences - but it wasn't until 1988-89 that I got involved with the movement as a movement of people with disabilities. And I have been involved ever since, with an increasing awareness and an increasing understanding of what disability rights are all about.

We are all hoping for a comprehensive UN convention on disability and you are representing South Africa in that process. What do you think is the outlook?

I must say that sitting on the other side of the fence as government, it's a very difficult situation. I say it's difficult because as a disabled person I have aspirations. There are certain things I want to see in that convention. But on the other hand, as a representative of the South African government, you need to reflect back on what our own legislation is all about and what the plans of government are with regard to disability, and sometimes the two - my aspirations as a disabled person and the aspirations of government as government - are not necessarily in sync. That certainly presents a dilemma.

However, I must say, as the one leading the process, I have a terrific team that brings on board both disabled and non-disabled people. I have Petronella Linders, the new Deputy Chair of the Youth Commission, and she brings a perspective that I find very useful. She is blind, while the rest of my team are government officials and are non-disabled. They have what I might call a decent understanding of disability and really want to be helpful, but at the end of the day they do not live with a disability. So, whatever their contributions may be, it's from a secondary perspective. My challenge is to balance the aspirations of disabled people with where the government wants to move towards. It is not an easy situation and I am constantly reminded by the members of my team that what I am promoting, much as it makes logical sense, from a government perspective is not realistic and therefore as a senior government official you cannot always be a proponent of a particular move.

That sounds a bit negative but, as far as a lot of the articles currently in the draft are concerned, South Africa is ahead. We meet regularly as a task team and sometimes we go through the articles and we say to each other: "we've already been there, done that." That's very gratifying.

But we need to remind ourselves that this convention is not about South Africa. It's actually about the majority of disabled people who live on the African continent and it is their needs that we want to capture in the convention. And it becomes extremely difficult because most of the countries participating meaningfully in the process are in the north, while those who participate and reside in developing countries are people without disabilities who talk primarily as technocrats and bureaucrats. Their perspective is very different from what their own people with disabilities would present, if they had the opportunity.

Does the OSD, and do you yourself, have any role to play in the African Decade of Disabled Persons?

Our role as an office was to facilitate the establishment of the Secretariat for the Decade. About four years ago we were approached by the disability community on the continent for us to lead the development of the African Decade; hence our role in convening a conference in 2003 that brought together representatives of government and civil society from all over the continent to deliberate on the African Decade. An offshoot of that meeting was the request to establish a Secretariat, recognizing the availability of good infrastructure and resources in this country. The South African government, through the President, agreed to that request and the OSDP was tasked with that responsibility and it has happened.

I am happy to say that Shuaib Chalklen is now officially employed as the CEO, on secondment from the South African government, which means an immense contribution of resources by the government by way of Shuaib's remuneration and support. The rest of the funding is currently provided by SIDA, but Shuaib is in the process of mobilizing more resources. Now that we actually have a Secretariat in existence, with its headquarters in Cape Town and a satellite office being negotiated for Midrand, all responsibility has moved to Shuaib and our role will merely be to serve on the board of governors and on the committee that oversees the Secretariat.

Won't you tell us a little about yourself and your outside interests?

I think my biggest hobby is raising two boys. I am a mother of two, eighteen and fifteen. Just that responsibility of knowing that you have these precious lives to look after and to nurture, to ensure that they grow into fine men, is a wonderful challenge. For me that is my only pastime; outside of that I don't have a life - I am still looking for one...

I was born in Barberton in the then Eastern Transvaal, donkey's years ago. At ten months I contracted polio. It was 1957 and there was a terrible outbreak at that time. My mother didn't know it was polio, but I ended up in hospital with a very high fever and both my lower limbs became paralysed.

You're very close to the seat of power here in the Presidency. What is the political commitment like around here?

What has sustained this office since we started in 1996 has been the political will, and the political commitment, and the political support. Before 1999 we were in the Deputy President's office, but after that we moved to the newly established Presidency, which meant that we were directly under the head of state of the South African government. President Mbeki has been a very strong supporter and proponent of disability rights. He is the patron of the disability movement in South Africa and the disability movement is the only civil society formation where he has agreed to serve as patron. He has refused to take up any other patronages and you can't ask for any greater commitment than that. It's at a very personal level.

The same goes for Deputy President Jacob Zuma and the Minister in the Presidency, Dr Essop Pahad. The political principals in the Presidency are strong supporters and proponents of disability rights. They go out of their way to mobilize resources and they talk about disability issues wherever and whenever they can. Minister Pahad has even embarrassed some of his colleagues in Cabinet by asking them directly how many people with disabilities are employed in their ministries. When I hit a barrier, I know that if I approach one of the political principals that barrier will be removed. All of this has been a major contributing factor to the success of the disability rights movement in South Africa.

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