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After a long period of political turmoil, Uganda has attained a status that is perhaps unique among nations. Its new constitution, written in 1995, requires that five of the national members of Parliament have disabilities - thus making Uganda worthy of the world's attention as it implements this experiment in political representation. Thousands of other disabled people have been elected at all levels of the government.
The five MPs in the national Parliament include The Honorable Alex Ndeezi, The Honorable Florence Nayiga Sekabira, The Honorable Hood Katuramu, The Honorable James Mwandha, and The Honorable Margaret Baba Diri,. According to Uganda News (June 26, 1996), they "join 39 women, 10 soldiers, five young people, and three trade unionists in reserved seats in the new 276-seat parliament" and were chosen from 26 candidates by 156 voters from across the country who made up the electoral college for the disability posts. One of these MPs, The Honorable Florence Naiga, has been appointed to serve as the Minister of State for Elderly and Disability Affairs.
Disability in Uganda
The Monitor, a leading Kampala newspaper, reports that 10% of Ugandans have a disability (The Monitor, September 22, 1998). Like other nations in Africa and around the world, Uganda has seen an increase in the number of persons with disabilities because of civil war. Some 200,000 people need wheelchairs, which are scarce and too expensive for most to afford, according to Jenny Kern, an advisor to Whirlwind Women. Kern's group helps local groups such as Mobility Appliances by Disabled Women Entrepreneurs (MADE) develop wheelchair production facilities. The Monitor has reported that 100,000 of those injured or killed by land mines were children (September 22, 1998). Also, malnutrition and communicable diseases cause disability, according to a International Labour Organization report - with polio being the "leading cause of disability amongst Ugandan youths" (The Monitor, September 22, 1998).
People with disabilities in Uganda face a number of daunting problems, according to The Honorable James Mwandha. Chief among these is limited access to health care, education, suitable housing, and good nutrition. Like disabled people in many other nations, Ugandans with disabilities often are unaware of their rights and potential, and says Mr. Mwandha, and sometimes fail "to assert themselves" which can lead to their "being denied most basic rights and services."
Disabled Ugandans tend to be the poorest citizens due to their lack of a proper education, and discrimination by employers. In one educational district, a study found that most of the children with disabilities were not in school (The Monitor, September 8, 1998), and disabled employees are usually the last hired and the first fired.
The government's priorities are also a problem, says Mr. Mwandha. Life-threatening illnesses such as AIDS and malaria demand the immediate attention of public officials, so disability issues are often given lower priority than more pressing public health concerns.
New Developments
But things are changing. The Members of Parliament representing disabled people see their role as advocating for the interests of people with disabilities. Their priorities include improving quality of housing, transportation, health care, education, employment, and social services for disabled people, according to Mr. Mwandha. They accomplish this objective by proposing policy development and reform, influencing resource allocation, and promoting the removal of barriers that prevent disabled people from enjoying the benefits and rights that others enjoy.
Gaining Influence
The MPs have made significant gains in a few short years. Mr. Mwandha reports that they were successful in ensuring that disabled people's concerns were addressed in several major laws, including the Local Government Act 1997, The Children's Statute 1996, Uganda Communications Act 1998, Uganda Traffic and Road Safety Act 1998, Ugandan Institute of Special Education Act 1998, and the Movement Act 1998 - all of which should help improve the lives of disabled people. One recent law proposes that employers be required to recruit disabled people.
All five disabled MPs are serving on Parliamentary committees, including Presidential Appointments, Rules and Privileges, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises, Social Services, and Public Service, Gender, and Local Government. Serving in the Parliament is easier now, too, that the laws have been changed to permit guide dogs and sign language interpreters in meeting and parliamentary sessions, according to MP Mwandha.
References
Mobility Appliances by Disabled Women Entrepreneurs (MADE) may be contacted c/o ADD at adduga@imul.com, attention Fatuma Achan, Manager.
On-going news coverage of Ugandan affairs may be accessed at www.africanews.com.
The Ugandan government's home page is at www.uganda.co.ug, which includes the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, a listing of Members of Parliaments and their constituencies, and Parliamentary committee assignments.
A recent report on independent living in Uganda may be found at www.ilru.org/summit.
For more information on Ugandan politics in general, and the opinions of Ugandans about democratic government, refer to "Popular Perceptions of Democracy: Elections and Attitudes in Uganda" by Dan Ottemoeller, in Comparative Political Studies, 31 (1), February 1998, 98-124.