President Mnangagwa donates 10 wheelchairs to Midlands

Gweru – President Emmerson Mnangagwa has fulfilled his promise to help the needy by donating 10
wheelchairs to the disabled in the Midlands.
Each district in the province will get two wheelchairs to be given to disabled people.
The wheelchairs were on Monday handed over to the beneficiaries by Director in the office of the
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Midlands Province Kudakwashe Machako at a
function held at Gweru Sports Club. Machako represented Minister Larry Mavima.
Special Advisor to the President on Disability Issues, Dr Joshua Malinga was represented by a
director in his office, Macnon Chirinzepi.
One of the beneficiaries of the wheelchairs from Mkoba 14, Lorrance Home thanked President
Mnangagwa for the wheelchair donation as it will enable him to move around.
I am so excited and grateful to the President for the wheelchair that he gave to me because I will
now be able to move around on my own without bothering people to help me, he said.
Lorrances mother Mercy Home also thanked the President for the wheelchairs stating that they
were vital resources for people with disabilities.
She encouraged the government to continue supporting people with disabilities.
Former Senator for people with Disabilities in the Midlands Province Anna Shiri commended the
president for fulfilling his promise which he made at the 2021 Disability Expo in Gweru which was to
assist people with disabilities.
We already have some of our disabled counterparts being promoted to be judges in the Justice
sector and others representing us even in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) which shows
that we are useful and valuable people in the country, said Senator Shiri.
In a speech read on his behalf, Senator Mavima applauded President Mnangagwa for remembering
people with disabilities as the wheelchairs donation was an important initiative which seeks to
support every Zimbabwean and cement the Presidents agenda of leaving no one and no place
behind.
I would like to salute His Excellency President E.D Mnangagwa for putting into action one of the
agendas of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) which states that issues of people living
with disabilities should be mainstreamed in all programmes so as to realise our aspirations as a
people and to promote facilities that cater for people with disabilities,'' he said.
Senator Mavima added that the government fully supported this initiative and the department of
Social Welfare was ready to support people with disabilities around the Midlands province.
In a speech read on his behalf, Dr. Malinga said people with disabilities constitute 10 percent of the
countrys population and they should therefore be prioritised and not stigmatised.
It is all our mandate to ensure that people with disabilities in our country are taken care of and we
should work towards including them in all sectors and organisations so that they contribute to the
upliftment of the economy of Zimbabwe,he said.
Dr. Malinga urged people with disabilities to stand for themselves through advocating for their rights
just like any other group of people in Zimbabwe.
He said that doors are open for people with disabilities to be included and the NDS 1 which is also
supporting them since the government reserves 15 percent of residential stands for people with
disabilities in the country.
We are aiming at observing inclusivity on people with disabilities in schools, government sectors
and other institutions because we do not want them to be left behind,” he said.
He also revealed that the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development also pledged to set aside some
mining claims for people with disabilities. He encouraged people with disabilities to take up such
opportunities so that they can sustain their lives in the future.