South African government to help persons with disabilities start businesses, find work

Africa Jun 17, 2012

CAPETOWN: South Africa’s Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities will help persons with disabilities to find work and set up small businesses this financial year, says the Minister, Lulu Xingwana.

Replying to questions from Members of Parliament in the National Assembly here Thursday on what support her department was offering persons with disabilities, she said the role of her department was not to implement job creation projects but rather to help facilitate these through other stakeholders.

In this regard, the department would in the current financial year support applications made to the Jobs Fund for those with disabilities and provide support to sheltered workshops.

 The department would also facilitate business finance and support for persons with disabilities running enterprises and co-operatives from institutions like the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) as well as the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform’s Comprehensive Rural Development Programme.

Xingwana said the department, together with the South African Disability Alliance and Disabled People South Africa, was working to set up job creation projects and assist those with disabilities to set up their own businesses.

She said South Africa still had some way to go before reaching the target of having persons with disabilities making up two per cent of the workforce.

“The government is responding in terms of policy, job access, reasonable accommodation and all these are part of the Codes of Good Practice on Disability in the Workplace,” she said.

However, she said the codes needed to go deeper to make an impact on the type and quality of work disabled people undertook in the workplace.

Source: http://www.bernama.com