The Movement in Favour of Rights for Persons with Disability (MFRPD) refers to the edition of Dissett aired on TVM on Saturday 7 April, which addressed the subject of disability.

The presenter Reno Bugeja was correct when he said that this sector is too extensive to be discussed thoroughly in a one-hour programme. Mr Bugeja however managed to raise some points that provided food for thought for those working with and caring for the disabled.

The Movement wishes to comment on some points raised in this programme. Andrew Azzopardi’s contribution merits further discussion on the subject because what he said is true, and there are more problems in the area that could easily be added to his list.

The disability sector is not doing well at all. There are serious problems that will not be resolved since the authorities concerned seem to refuse to accept that these problems exist.

The issue on the employment for people with disability was brought up. It is recalled how the President of the European Union of Supported Employment had been invited to a conference in Malta on the subject to inform us, the government and the authorities concerned about professional schemes for the benefit of all persons with disability.

We wish to point out that, except for the representative of the ministry responsible who read out the opening address and then left the conference the government, the KNPD (National Commission for Persons with Disability) and the ETC did not show up for the conference. Another issue dealt with during this conference was that of independent living, which was also addressed by another professional foreign speaker who had and is still doing research on this subject. The Support Agency did not turn up either. Furthermore, a few weeks later, the KNPD paid a Maltese professional to draw up a report on the subject. In our opinion the KNPD missed a golden opportunity to meet and discuss the subject with this foreign expert, who would certainly have given them her professional views.

The lack of attendance of these authorities at conferences discussing issues also on the KNPD’s agenda was also confirmed by the KNPD’s Joseph Camilleri himself on Disset, and this shows that the problems are more serious than one would think. When the government, the KNPD, the ETC and the Support Agency failed to attend these conferences, they let down all people with disability and the message was a very negative one. These authorities took such a decision notwithstanding the fact that they are being paid from our taxes.

Another point mentioned was the composition of the KNPD’s board with Mr Camilleri supporting the fact that, contrary to what used to happen way back, the seven members from the disability sector on the board were rightly appointed in their own personal capacities. This notwithstanding, the fact is that the Equal Opportunity Act states otherwise. Who is responsible for making sure that this law is being implemented as it should be? Nothing was mentioned about the attendance of these people – whether they are attending these meetings on a regular basis or not. According to Mr Camilleri, the KNPD is functioning well with the present board (these appointments in personal capacities have been made for the last 10 years) and that the reports and website are a means of communication with the organisations. He continued to say that Malta will soon ratify the relevant UN Convention and the KNPD has already started making the necessary changes to conform to the Convention, one of which is to create a space to communicate with the organisations.

We suggest that the KNPD inform itself on the number of organisations involved with the disability sector, as well as change its attitude to the federation representing them. The federation is the national umbrella organisation accepted by the European Disability Forum as a full member. In the disability sector we talk a lot about ‘inclusion’ but ‘exclusion’ dominates within this sector too!

Grace Zerafa

Movement in Favour of Rights for Persons with Disability