A new study on poverty and disability in Johannesburg has revealed that only 39% of disabled people in Johannesburg’s eight poorest wards are receiving disability grants.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Social Development in Africa, also found that 21% of disabled people in those wards were not even aware of the existence of the disability grant. Of those who knew about the grant, many did not apply because they did not know where to apply or did not have identity documents.
Only 18% were formally employed while 42% were involved in some kind of livelihood activity, such as selling vegetables or sewing clothes.
By law, those who have a physical or mental disability that renders them unable to work for more than six months can apply for a disability grant of up to R1 080 per month.
But because many people who are too ill to work do not have disabilities such as deafness, blindness or paralysis, but rather a chronic illness such as HIV or asthma, they are often refused disability grants.
Professor Laila Patel, the centre’s director, said: “The idea of a chronic illness grant needs further investigation as it could provide one policy option for responding to the HIV epidemic,” she said.
Marginalised
Lauren Graham, one of the researchers on the study, said there were similarities in the way the poor and the disabled are marginalised. Disabled people in the areas where research was carried out had similar levels of access to water, electricity and housing as others. But there was a major difference when it came to educational attainment.
While 32% of the general population in the wards studied and completed matric, only 8% of disabled people did so. Many disabled students dropped out of school because they could not afford the fees, but a lack of educational support was also a factor.
Graham said much advocacy would be needed to hold the Ministry of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities accountable for policies that were not being properly implemented. “At least now there is a ministry that we can hold accountable,” she said.
The researchers recommended that government invest more in teacher education and school facilities to accommodate disabled learners, ensure that public transport is more disability friendly and improve access to social assistance.
According to Statistics South Africa, 4% of South Africans — almost 2-million people — have a disability.