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The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has called for the introduction of a deliberate policy that will seek to reserve a seat for Persons With Disabilities (PWD) in the Ward Development Committee (WDC).
Government had tasked all local authority to hold and conclude WDC elections by March 31, 2024 as prescribed in the Local Government Act No. 2 of 2019.
MDC Chairperson for Disability, Sarah Brotherton, in a statement issued in Lusaka on Monday, said the PWDs should not be subjected to such elections.
“As Councils across the country are busy preparing for the formulation and holding elections for WDCs, the MDC is of the view that PWDs should not be subjected to such elections,” she demanded.
Brotherton said by so doing, PWDs would be motivated to take up leadership roles in governance when a seat was reserved for them in the WDC.
She noted that the WDC elections were also crucial and that such persons should be allowed to participate without any hindrance.
“When PWDs are not subjected to elections in each ward, they would take part in the decentralized systems of governance and ably champion the needs of marginalized groups of people in communities,” Brotherton stated.
She noted that very few PWDs were capable of managing to stand and contest such elections.
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