Question NW3839 to the Minister in The Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities

Reply:

The DWYPD analyses draft annual performance plans (APPs) of government departments with an aim to assess whether they are disability responsive in terms of indicators and targets in the APPs. Technical Feedback is provided by the DWYPD to and they are encouraged to disaggregate data for all its programmes and services according to sex, age and disabilities of beneficiaries. An annual progress report on the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (WPRPD) is developed where the number of persons with disabilities included in the various programmes including employment and procurement equity targets are captured, and submitted to Cabinet to provide a determination of the extent to which persons with disabilities are being included and represented in the different areas within the departments. The Department of Public Service and Administration produces its annual report where it outlines the number of persons with disabilities employed by government over the financial year. National Treasury is required to provide a report to the DWYPD highlighting the number of disability owned companies who benefited from the national procurement spend of government through its budget tagging system. The Commission for Employment Equity also provides data on the number of persons with disabilities employed by the private sector and national, Provincial and local government spheres.

STATS SA in partnership with the DWYPD have established the Disability Advisory Group (DAG) consisting of experts from the disability sector, academic institutions, civil society organisations and government departments, which will work in finalising the report on the standardisation of disability in administrative data with the World Bank. The Disability Advisory Group met on 18 August 2022 and on 5 December 2023 and have prioritised the definition of disability so as to ensure that the measure of disability is standardised and harmonised across society. The Disability Advisory Group will also provide assistance in research and development of disability statistics to ensure that the demographic data on disability is accurate and effectively collected and monitored to assist with proper planning, monitoring and reporting.

 

To this end, the DWYPD will endeavour to build relationships with academic institutions, research institutions, donor funders and civil society organisations to build research partnerships and also engage multiple stakeholders to advance evidence based policies and programmes aimed to reach the diverse disabled population group.

Among sources which may be used to respond and provide information on key indicators are: Data from Stats SA Quarterly Labour Force Surveys; Departmental Annual and Research Reports; data from the 2016 South African Demographic Health survey, the 2022 census, SAPS quarterly Crime Stats and the Commission on Employment Equity annual Report.

The monitoring and evaluation that the DWYPD undertakes is in line with the 5 year policy priorities as defined in the MTSF 2019/2024. In planning for the medium-term projects, the programme is always directed towards interventions directed to women, youth and persons with disabilities particularly the most vulnerable, including the elderly, women with disabilities and those from poor households, including in informal settlements and rural areas.