PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION DURING THE 2018 ELECTION SEASON IN ZIMBABWE

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION DURING THE 2018 ELECTION SEASON IN ZIMBABWE 

 

By Lyndon T. Nkomo

Deaf Zimbabwe Trust

Founding Trustee

27 July, 2017

 

Background

Election season has dawned on Zimbabwe and the President has started campaigning in various provinces mainly targeting the youths. Many Deaf youths are unaware of the President’s campaign programme and why this time he has chosen to target the youths. Praise is a profoundly Deaf youth and by chance he saw a newspaper headline that says the President will be visiting Masvingo Province to meet the Youths. The next day there was a big headline from the Herald newspaper indicating that that 20 000 stands were going to be allotted to the youths in Masvingo. He thought to himself that the President will do the allocation of the stands at his rally. Regrettably, he did not have information as to where to submit his name since he also desired to acquire a stand. The people around him could not communicate with him because they had no knowledge of sign language neither were there any Sign Language Interpreters in his home area. He checked the news on Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Television (ZBC-TV), the sole public service broadcaster in the country, but there was no sign language interpreter on the live programme that was running. The day for the President’s visit arrived and there was a big rally in Mucheke Stadium. Praise also rushed to the stadium hoping to hear the message which the President was going to deliver to the youths of Masvingo Province. He shoved through the masses of people to take a sit on the front role hoping that just may be, there was going to be a sign language interpreter in attendance but to his frustration there was none. He decided to go back home to follow the proceedings on ZBC-TV and again, to his frustration, there was no sign language interpreter neither were there any captions running on television during the live programme. This brief story highlights the frustration that Deaf people as well as other people with disabilities have to endure in order to access information even though their experiences may differ due to the differences in their disabilities.   

Introduction

Free and unhindered political participation sits at the core of the democratic societies. The human rights perspective affirms that every citizen regardless of sex, intellectual capacity, race or disability has a right, if they so wish, to take part in politics either as a member of a political party or in the exercise of the right to vote or to stand for election and hold public office when so elected subject to the provision of reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.   

Issues Affecting People with Disabilities

Access to information for people with disabilities has been a huge perennial problem which has hindered the majority of people with disabilities from fully participating in direct politics in Zimbabwe. The problems start from political parties who are not conscious of the needs and interest of people with disabilities. Existing political parties have not seriously pursued an inclusive approach that embraces people with disabilities within their rank and file and to seek to address their needs. Politicians in Zimbabwe do not seem to place significant value to the disability vote even though ZANU PF has made marginal attempts to do that by appointing Joshua Malinga as a member representing persons with disabilities in their party. However, he has not been very effective in influencing policy changes needed to advance the rights and interests of people with disabilities because being a sole representative he lacks the critical mass needed to shift perceptions and the thinking of conservative politicians who care less about people with disabilities. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it does not mean that there are no people with disabilities within these political parties but sometimes those that have disabilities do not identify themselves as such. The refusal by some elite politicians to identify themselves as persons with the disability or with the disability movement has negatively affected the mainstreaming of disability issues in political parties. With negligible representation in the corridors of power, there are few people who will stand for the rights and interests of people with disabilities as well as push for programmes that are intended to advance their causes. 

Furthermore, political parties in Zimbabwe do not make their manifestos available in forms that are accessible to people with disabilities such as braille and videos with sign language interpretation neither do they provide sign language interpreters at their rallies. Whilst ZBC-TV, which is an agent of the State, sometimes provides Sign Language Interpreters during some of its news bulletins, this has not been the case for most of its pre-recorded and outside live broadcast programmes. ZBC-TV does not provide captions during any of its broadcast programming services and yet s22 (3) (c) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe creates an obligation on the part of the State and all its institutions and agencies to ‘…encourage the use and development of all forms of communication suitable for persons with physical or mental disabilities…’ The fact that ZBC-TV is not consistently providing broadcast services that take into account the needs of the Deaf is evidence that they are trammelling some of the basic rights of people with disabilities in Zimbabwe. It is common cause that most Deaf people cannot follow with precise understanding programmes that are shown on television without the assistance of captions or sign language interpreters. The information gap between hearing and Deaf people is, therefore, huge in Zimbabwe. This is the obtaining situation despite the fact that access to information by all citizens is critical in sustaining functioning democracies and it is paramount that all citizens including people with disabilities are able to make informed political decisions.

There is need for the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) to initiate regulations that compels all television broadcasters including print media houses that are running websites registered and hosted in Zimbabwe where they upload videos and sometimes live online broadcasts to provide live captions and sign language interpreters where appropriate. This will ensure that Deaf people and other people requiring similar services do not miss out on key public information. Freedom of expression when embraced by all key media stakeholders is capable of building up an inclusive society in which all people are treated as equal and have equal access to critical services of our nation including access to information. Access to information is critical in equipping citizens to actively engage in public interest discourse including standing for election into public office.      

Section 61 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that ‘Every person has a right to freedom of expression which includes ‘freedom to seek, receive and communicate ideas and other information…’ This is an important right through which citizens are able to enjoy other fundamental rights. In In re Munhumeso and Others Gubbay CJ observed that:

The importance attaching to the exercise of the right to freedom of expression …must never be under-estimated. They lie at the foundation of a democratic society and are one of the basic conditions for its progress and for the development of every man…Freedom of expression, one of the most precious of all the guaranteed freedoms has four broad special purposes to serve;

(i) it helps an individual to obtain self-fulfilment;

(ii) assists in the discovery of truth;

(iii) it strengthens the capacity of the individual to participate in decision making; and

(iv), it provides a mechanism by which it would be possible to establish a reasonable balance between stability and change.

In light of what freedom of expression means as well as its purposes, the question that needs to be asked within the context of political participation by people with disabilities is ‘how are People With Disabilities in Zimbabwe expected to make informed political decisions and choices in the absence of political information as a result of restrictions to access to by political parties, election authorities and media houses?’ Access to information is critical particularly during an election season because it is that which enables citizens to be fully engaged in political debates and assist them in the exercise of the right to vote as guaranteed under s67 (3) (a) of the Constitution, which provides that:

Subject to this Constitution, every Zimbabwean citizen who is of or over eighteen years of age has the right- (a) to vote in all elections and referendums to which this Constitution or any other law applies, and to do so in secret;  

and such important decisions can only be exercised on the basis of adequate and correct information that is disseminated in languages and formats that can be easily understood by People with Disabilities. In the absence of information on what political parties are offering to the public in their manifestos, the ability of one to exercise the right to vote will be unduly restricted. It is also unfortunate that the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) practices, whether knowingly or unknowingly, voter discriminatory tactics which in effect suppresses the votes of People with Disabilities. ZEC does this by not embarking on voter education programmes which specifically target people with disabilities such as Deaf and Blind people and voter education information is not packaged in accessible communication formats such as sign language, braille and easy to read materials for those people with intellectual disabilities. In addition to that, ZEC does not provide suitable voting technologies for blind people and other people who may require such assistive devices which compromise their right to vote in secret as provided for in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. Imagine, how a person without arms will be expected to vote in a polling booth that has not been adapted to accommodate such needs? How is a person who is blind expected to secretly vote in the presence of his or her assistant? If technological solutions are available which make it possible for people with disabilities to access information on voting as well as exercise their right to vote in secret,   why then should we not make such assistive devices available and accessible to the communities that need them? The lack of effort on the part of ZEC in ensuring that appropriate accommodations are extended to people with disabilities in order to pull down the barriers standing against them in terms of political participation and the right to vote and to do so in secret is discriminatory and it inadvertently amounts to voter suppression.    

As noted above, such discriminatory tactics whether being done deliberately or in ignorance weaken our democracy as they disenfranchise people with disabilities from political participation. Therefore, the guaranteed political rights under s67 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe will not be fully realised by people with disabilities. The provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities are more enlightening as to how people with disabilities ought to receive information that is of public interest. For instance, Article 21 of the UNCRPD which deals with Freedom of Expression and opinion, and access to information provides that:

States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities can exercise the right to freedom of expression and opinion, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas on an equal basis with others and through all forms of communication of their choice, as defined in article 2 of the present Convention, including by:

a.                Providing information intended for the general public to persons with disabilities in accessible formats and technologies appropriate to different kinds of disabilities in a timely manner and without additional cost;

b.               Accepting and facilitating the use of sign languages, Braille, augmentative and alternative communication, and all other accessible means, modes and formats of communication of their choice by persons with disabilities in official interactions;

c.                Urging private entities that provide services to the general public, including through the Internet, to provide information and services in accessible and usable formats for persons with disabilities;

d.               Encouraging the mass media, including providers of information through the Internet, to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities;    

 

These provisions make reference to ‘accessible formats and technologies appropriate to all kinds of disabilities’ as the most effective way of communicating public information to People with Disabilities. Therefore, for Deaf people the use of sign language and sign language interpreters during one on one engagements or mass engagements would be appropriate. In situations where information has to be published via television broadcasting services then the provision of sign language interpreters or the use of captions becomes relevant. With respect to people who are hard of hearing, the use of voice amplifiers, sign language and Sign Language Interpreters may also be used as suitable form of communication of public information to this group of citizens. The use of braille and voice amplifiers as well as voice to text conversion technologies would be suitable for communicating with visually impaired people. 

As the election season heats up and political parties are beginning to launch their manifestos as well as engaging into campaign modes, it will be important for them not to be exclusionary in their approach and to ensure that all forms of messages which they are going to disseminate are either published or broadcast in formats and modes that are suitable and accessible to all citizens including People with Disabilities. The PWD vote is crucial because there are as many as 1 million people with disabilities in Zimbabwe and that is a huge constituency that must have a significant say in the governance of the country.        

It also needs to be pointed out that political participation does not only relate to the right to vote. Political participation by people with disabilities in Zimbabwe has been very limited in that the quota that has been reserved for people with disabilities of two (2) Senate seats does not allow them to make significant impact in the Senate. Following the promulgation of the new Constitution of Zimbabwe, only two (2) seats were reserved for people with disabilities in the Senate under the provisions of s120 (1) (d) of the Constitution and it is unfortunate that there was no reservation of seats that was done for People with Disabilities in the National Assembly. This means that if they cannot compete with those people without disabilities then they can only participate in law making process in the Senate. The existing option may not be very effective in terms of ensuring that they influence laws to ensure that they take into cognisance the interests of people with disabilities. Practice has shown that the Senate house does not conduct robust debates as the National Assembly and without critical numbers in the Senate it may be very difficult for only two representatives of people with disabilities to force any legislative changes that takes into account the interests of their constituency.

The critical question is, if the makers of the new Constitution found it necessary to provide a quota for disability representatives why did they not make a similar concession targeted for the National Assembly where the law making process begins? This appears to have been a half-hearted measure to appease people with disabilities. It would appear that there was an over provision on the need to address gender diversity at the expense of other similarly critical groups of citizens within the country. The current circumstances do not facilitate the effective contribution by people with disabilities in the making of disability sensitive legislation as well as the participation of more persons with disabilities in civic and public decision making processes.  Therefore, the Constitution contradicts itself in that whilst the spirit behind it seeks to elevate people with disabilities to achieve their full potential as envisaged by s83 of the thereof, which provides that:

‘The State must take appropriate measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to ensure that people with disabilities realise their full mental and physical potential, including measures-…’,

government policy in general as well as the conduct of a number of government agencies such as ZEC restrict the development of the potential of people with disabilities through in various ways some of which have been explained above to the detriment of the aspirations of people with disabilities. These are people who are already at a disadvantage in terms of their numbers, economic, social and educational standing due to barriers that have been imposed on them by the society. It is inconceivable within the current circumstances that people with disabilities in Zimbabwe can compete on equal footing with people without disabilities who have had many decades of participation in politics and public decision making processes. For instance, if one looks at the Deaf Community in Zimbabwe, there are very few people who are Deaf and have university degrees in Zimbabwe, more so occupying influential positions in the society. Furthermore, it must be noted that educational outcomes in the Deaf Community have been low due to over a century of miseducation or lack of it. It has been almost impossible to build capacity for intellectual, civic and public engagement within the Deaf community because of the challenges identified above.  A number of challenges faced by People with Disabilities also had to do with the inadequate legislative support especially with serious shortcomings from the Disabled Person Act and well as little fiscal support for disability issues from the national treasury. These have compromised the quality of life of a majority of People with Disabilities as well as their ability to engage the Government on serious matters affecting them.    

Therefore, for a very long time, disability issues and concerns have been treated as marginal issues in Zimbabwe and even after the promulgation of the new Constitution of Zimbabwe in 2013 whose spirit is to create a nation “…united in our diversity by our common desire for freedom, justice and equality…” the same Constitution makes marginal concessions to people with disabilities in terms political participation.  It will be difficult to bring people with disabilities into the main fray of civic and political engagement within the existing constitutional context.  As rightly noted in a paper presented by the Belgians to the Conference of State Parties in 2011, “Inclusion in our Societies also means participation in political and public life. It is a condition sine qua non for human rights minded citizenship”. Therefore, the unity in diversity referred to in the preamble to our Constitution will remain a pipe dream unless conducive conditions giving people with disabilities the right platform to enjoy their political rights on equal basis with others are created. This is a deliberate decision which politicians and the general citizenry have to make and pursue within the context of a vision of a nation built on “…freedom, justice and equality...”                  

Whereas the Constitution makes marginal concessions to people with disabilities, It is important to note that it makes huge provisions for gender diversity in the National Assembly intended to promote the participation of women in politics by virtue of the provisions of s124 (1) (b) which provides that:

 For the life of the first two Parliaments after the effective date, an additional sixty women members, six from each provinces into which Zimbabwe is divided, elected under a party-list system of proportional representation based on votes cast for candidates representing political parties in a general election for constituency members in the provinces. 

Therefore, a deliberate attempt to build the capacity of women to participate in politics as well as public decision making systems found expression in our Constitution in 2013. The rationale being that it was noted that in the past fewer women were taking part in politics and public decision making processes because of centuries male domination in the public governance sector. Women were perceived to be unjustly forced to take a back seat role in governance issues by their more powerful male counterparts and in the end, they were put in the same category as vulnerable groups which included children and people with disabilities. Our contention is that if the law can recognise women and give them such a generous dispensation, being part of the group of people once recognised as vulnerable, then there is no justification as to why people with disabilities should not be given a similar legislative dispensation.

Consequently, there is need for the quota for disability representation to be increased to at least 7% each in both the National Assembly and the Senate since people with disabilities represent 7% of the total population of Zimbabwe. Political parties must seriously consider giving value to the disability vote as well as including people with disabilities on their election party lists as candidates. A political party that is seen to be building the capacity of people with disabilities for political and public engagements on various issues is likely to win a significant number of votes from people with disabilities than a political party that discriminates them.       

Conclusion

The ability of one to contribute towards the governance of his country affirms a sense of citizenship. In this regard, therefore, political participation by people with disabilities becomes critical in light of the fact that they were regarded as second class citizens for many years who did not have voting rights. Now that the right to political participation has found constitutional expression in the new Constitution of Zimbabwe, all stakeholders including the Government and its agencies must invest resources that will ensure that People with Disabilities have access to information including the establishment of platforms for communication that will facilitate their full engagement in public discourse on issues of national interest. Political parties and the Government must ensure that opportunities are created for those that have the capacity to hold public office to do so without the rigours of competing with people without disabilities including the enactment of supportive legislation to ensure that people with disabilities who have political aspirations are given appropriate accommodations to fulfil their dreams. The interests of people with disabilities will always be different from those of people without disabilities and this is the case in those countries where the rights and interests of people with disabilities have been progressively improved. In such countries, there has not been a convergence of common interests as they relate to the needs of people with disabilities and those without disabilities. Therefore, an inclusive political participation is a national imperative to ensure that every individual has a right to participate in the selection of those who should govern their country and it must be noted that incorporated in an individual’s political choice is an implied determination by the individual as to how their choice would make them realise their personal aspirations.