QUADPARA ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH AFRICA (QASA)

SUBMISSION REGARDING THE PROMOTION OF EQUALITY AND PREVENTION OF UNFAIR DISCRIMINATION ACT OF 2000

TO THE JOINT MONITORING COMMITTEE ON IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE AND STATUS OF WOMEN AND TO THE JOINT MONITORING COMMITTEE ON IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE AND STATUS OF CHILDREN, YOUTH AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

BACKGROUND ON QASA

The QuadPara Association of South Africa is a non-profit organisation (NPO 000-881) which represents people with mobility impairments in South Africa. Any person may become a member of the organisation. The organisation is predominantly staffed and managed by people with mobility impairments.

QASA’s mission is to be an effective co-ordinating, policy-making and supporting organisation striving to prevent spinal cord injury and to promote and protect the interests of people with mobility impairments through advocacy, lobbying and delivery of services and products to people with disabilities.

QASA has approximately 6000 members, but represents a constituency of approximately 50 000 mobility-impaired persons in South Africa. The organisation is managed by a National Management Committee of which 84% are persons with mobility impairments. QASA’s membership comprises 69% persons from previously disadvantaged groups (i.e. persons who did not have a franchise prior to the 1994 national elections).

QASA is affiliated to the Federal Council for Disability, and has relationships with similar agencies in South Africa, such as the Office for the Status of Disabled People, the Thabo Mbeki Development Trust for Disabled People (where QASA is member of the Skills Development Committee), Disabled People South Africa, and the Association for People with Disabilities.

QASA is also affiliated to our seven regional QuadPara Associations, in Gauteng South, Gauteng North, Free State, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

QASA’s products and services include advocacy and lobbying to government at national, provincial and local level; conducting awareness campaigns on the cause and prevention of spinal cord injury; publication and distribution of information to people with disabilities; development of similar organisations in Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe; establishment of 15 independent living centres throughout the country for people with mobility impairments; establishment of income-generating business units for living centres and individuals; development of disabled sport; provision of funding for education; and skills development through learnerships, where QASA has acted as lead employer on two disability learnerships in New Venture Creation NQF level.

QASA is very proud of all legislation promulgated in the last 12 years and congratulates the Government of the day for this.

The Equality Act cannot be seen on its own and must be viewed in conjunction with the Bill of Rights and the Constitution to understand how much it means to persons with disabilities.

QASA will focus on only two issues and will assume that other disability agencies, representing other generic disabilities will identify other issues which are most appropriate to them.

QASA states that: There is no functional, integrated transport system available for persons with disabilities in South Africa and this transgresses all that the Act provides for.

QASA states that: Most new buildings are still inaccessible for persons with disabilities and although some, are compliant with Section S of the National Building Regulations, most buildings have many barriers for persons with mobility impairments and these exclude these persons from many areas. It must be noted that Section S of the National Building Regulations does not meet the access requirements of people with disabilities.

These two issues above clearly ensure that our membership and those with mobility impairments cannot participate in society and the Act actually demonstrates to us how we are discriminated against.

-Excluded from Work opportunities

-Excluded from Skills development

-Excluded from entry into Integrated life as a whole.

At the moment, it is acceptable to state that PERSONS WITH MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS CANNOT USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND CANNOT ACCESS MOST BUILDINGS FREELY AND INDEPENDENTLY!

Having made this statement, we state that we are discriminated against every day, all day.

The Act is not policed and the impact not monitored to ensure we benefit from its intention.

It is cumbersome and almost impossible to use this excellent piece of legislation and QASA suggests a dedicated post to the disability sector to understand the issues we face and to facilitate the use of its power to take transgressors to task and create real impact of the Act.

The Equality Court is not easy to “access” and very few of our membership and constituency have the capacity or financial resources to successfully institute a complaint. We are only aware of one successful case using the Equality Act and Equality Court by a member of ours and she is a lawyer herself.

QASA suggests a “road show” information workshop in all provinces for the disability sector, to explain to persons with disabilities, the value, meaning and purpose of the Act and how to access it and procedure for using the Equality Court.

It will only take a succession of successful well publicized cases to get those who do not comply to understand the power of this legislation.

In conclusion, I want to thank you for the opportunity to submit this comment and we would welcome partnership with Government and also others whose presentations have merit to seek solutions for the shortcomings of the Equality Act.

Ari Seirlis

National Director