Question NW959 to the Minister of Social Development

Reply:

a) It should be noted that there is no specific criteria for persons seeking to apply for Disability Grants as a result of albinism. Section 9 of the Social Assistance Act, 2004 states that a person is eligible for a disability grant if he or she “is, owing to a physical or mental disability, unfit to obtain by virtue of any service, employment or profession the means needed to enable him or her to provide for his or her maintenance”. The assessment for eligibility is thus based on a medical assessment which should confirm the impact of the condition on the applicant’s ability to support themselves.

A person with albinism may meet the eligibility criteria for a disability grant if complications associated with albinism have activity limitation consequences on that person’s ability to function to the extent that they will not be able to meet the inherent demands of open labour market employment. It is not the condition itself which is the qualifying criteria, but rather the impact the condition has on the applicant’s ability to function independently.

b) The SASSA system does not capture detail of the diagnosis or impairments of persons applying for disability grants for reasons of confidentiality and privacy. The information is on the medical reports which remain in the files. It is therefore not possible to report on the numbers of people with albinism who receive disability grants.

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Approved by the Minister on

Date……………………….