Government Budget 2020-21

Fails Persons with Disabilities

JUNE 11

Prof. Armoogum Parsuramen

Founder-President
Global Rainbow Foundation

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I Brief reflections
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has come
down to its knees; an irrefutable fact of the year 2020. It
has equally ushered in a wave of policy-making Positive Measures:
amendments to ensure an equitable, fair and inclusive
Page 24, Para 189: We are
post-COVID-19 world. I appreciate the Government has further enhancing our means
presented some optimistic resolutions in the “Budget to help the most vulnerable
Speech 2020-2021: Our New Normal: The Economy of Life.” group.
I am glad to note that the Government Budget included the Page 38, Para 273: This
housing, medical and employment support systems for the housing programme will meet
most vulnerable groups as stipulated under Positive the needs of the most
vulnerable families as well as
Measures. low and middle-income
families.
Nevertheless, the 2020 “COVID-19 (MISCELLANEOUS
Page 53, Para 359: A travers
PROVISIONS) BILL” passed on the 09th May 2020 and the ce budget, nous allons:
“Budget Speech 2020-2021: Our New Normal: The
Economy of Life” presented on the 04th June 2020 have (a) Préserver les emplois et
les moyens de subsistance
omitted the mention of Persons with Disabilities in their des plus vulnérables.
proposed agenda.
Page 44, Para 302: Bedridden
and severe disability persons
aged above 60 years and
those below 18 years benefit
from medical domiciliary
visits.

Page 44, Para 305: For better

protection of the elderly,
funds are being earmarked in
this Budget to double the
number of anti-influenza
vaccines from 75,000 to
150,000.

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II GRF’s concerns & advocacy
If the terms ‘vulnerable’ and ‘vulnerable group(s)’ were mentioned, there was
nevertheless, no adequate mentioning of the Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) except
for once at page 44 in Para 302: ‘’Bedridden and severe disability persons aged above
60 years and those below 18 years benefit from medical domicilary visits.’’. The
Government seems to have missed out on the undercurrent inclusiveness of the most
vulnerable groups- the Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). Mauritius, to date, has a count
of approximately 60,000 PWDs forming the most vulnerable community of the island.

The Global Rainbow Foundation (GRF) dedicates its mission to advocate for and defend
the PWDs who are marginalised and excluded from many domains of the social, political,
educational and economic progress. GRF acts as a facilitator to PWDs who cannot afford
to access aid to facilitate their social inclusion and most importantly to take a different
approach to deadlocks of social provisions available to elder persons of our society. GRF
dedicates its mission to advocate for and defend the PWDs’ inclusion and integration in
its totality.

GRF’s concern rests in the omission of the PWDs community in the Budget 2020-21
which marks the non-enactment of the inclusion stated and promised in the Electoral
Manifesto 2014 which stated:

Page 12: Un ‘Disability Discrimination Bill’ sera présenté

afin d’éliminer toute discrimination sur la base
d’incapacité physique et mentale

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The allegiance and pledge to enact upon the provision of giving the PWDs their
democratic rights and restore their human dignity in Mauritius gets restated in the
Government Programme 2015-2019 whereby it starkly postulated that:

Page 6, Para 21: New legislation will be brought

forward to provide more protection and security to the
elderly, women, children and physically handicapped.
Penalties for offenders will be substantially increased.

Page 7, Para 25: Government proposes to amend

sections 3 (Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of
Individual) and 16 (Protection from Discrimination) of
the Constitution to prohibit discrimination and
introduce a Disability Bill to provide further protection
to persons with disabilities.

III Non-enactment of Electoral Manifesto and

Government Programme
The State undertaking to introduce the Disability Bill and its related legislations were
cited in the Electoral Manifesto 2014 and Government Programme 2015-2019
respectively. Yet, to date, it remains non-implemented. The promised Bill in the Electoral
Manifesto and Government Programme 2015-2019 appears as a forgotten promise
towards an inclusive Mauritius.

It is worth noting that during Parliamentary Question Sessions, questions were raised
about the “Disability Bill-Introduction’ by four Members of Parliament to the Minister of
Social Security, National Solidarity, Environment and Sustainable Development of the
time as follows:

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 PQ 2016 -2019 Member of Parliament
Mr P. Bérenger (The Leader of After official consultations held with Ministries and
12th July 2016
the Opposition)
28th March 2017 Mr A. Ganoo (First Member for
Savanne& Black River)
14th November Mr A. Ganoo (First Member for
2017 Savanne& Black River)
04th December Mr V. Baaloomoody (Third
2018 Member for GRNW & Port
Louis West)
14th May 2019 Mr P. Armance (First Member
for GRNW & Port Louis West)
Excerpts from replies of the Minister
Departments concerned in May and June this year, the draft
Disability Bill will shortly be submitted for its agreement in
principle to Cabinet before the document is shared with a
broader spectrum of stakeholders, involving NGOs, disabled
people organisations, disability activists, the Opposition
parties and the civil society at large. After this process, the
draft Bill will be finalised with the Attorney General’s Office
before its introduction in the National Assembly.
my Ministry has been working on the draft Disability Bill
which aims at promoting and protecting the rights of persons
with disabilities, eliminating discrimination against the
disabled and incorporating the provisions of the United
Nations Convention of the rights of persons with disabilities
…On 20 January 2017, a Draft Zero of the Bill was sent to
my Ministry by the Attorney General’s Office … Once these
issues are addressed, I shall submit the draft Bill for the
agreement in principle of Cabinet, before the document is
shared with a broader spectrum of stakeholders involving
NGO’S, Disabled People’s Organisations, Disability
Activists, and Civil Society at large. After this process, the
draft Bill will be finalised with the Attorney General’s Office
before its introduction in the National Assembly.
The Draft of the Disability Bill is still being reviewed at the
level of my Ministry as a number of issues still have to be
addressed.
It is expected that the draft Disability Bill will be introduced
in the National Assembly around the end of 2018. The draft
Disability Bill will be circulated among all relevant
stakeholders, including civil society, prior to its introduction
into the National Assembly.
My Ministry has been working on a draft Disability Bill in
consultation with other Ministries and Departments and the
State Law Office … The Bill will be introduced before the
House next year.
Following my Parliamentary reply of 04 December 2018,
several consultations have subsequently been held, namely on
28 January 2019, 31 January 2019, 11 February 2019, 14
March 2019, 06 and 09 May 2019 with the State Law Office
and issues which had been raised have been addressed or still
need to be addressed … As matters now stand, I expect that
the draft Disability Bill will be introduced into the National
Assembly before the end of this year.

The promises made by the Ministers stunted at an “unfinalised preliminary draft in

respect of the draft Disability Bill in April 2016 for official consultations with Ministries
and Departments concerned” which circulated from the Attorney General’s Office to the
cabinet. The introduction of the claimed drafted Bill was expected for circulation ‘around
the end of 2018.’ Nevertheless, the Bill remains without any response to concretise its
implementation to date.

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It is unanticipated and worrisome that within its two consecutive mandates, the
Government did not make any attempt to execute its objectives towards the
empowerment of the PWDs nor did it make an effort to put its words in practice to
enhance the life of the persons with disabilities. Our main argument rests within the
stipulated concern that from its 2014 Electoral Manifesto, the Government did not
execute and realise most of its commitments towards the PWDs community. The same
lack of commitment to carry out the said laws and provisions is repeated in this current
mandate. There is a governmental non-conviction to implement its postulations.

IV Reflections on the Budget Speech 2020-

2021: Our New Normal: The Economy of Life.
My reading and perception on the “Budget Speech 2020-2021: Our New Normal: The
Economy of Life” brings me to share my reflections to highlight the salient features of
the proposed financial measures for the year 2020-21 which omitted, excluded and
ignored the PWDs.

I wish to draw your attention to the dearth of the Government’s dedication to pledge
for the democratic and human rights of the PWDs inclusiveness from the following
postulations. In his “Budget Speech 2020-2021: Our New Normal: The Economy of Life”,
dated 04th June 2020, the Honourable Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and
Development, Renganaden Padayachy stated the following financial measures which
clearly exclude the PWDs.

Financial Measures
Education:
Page 42, Para 292: Education is what
will forge the Mauritius of tomorrow.
Page 42, Para 294: We are allocating
Rs 15 billion to the Ministry of
Education, Tertiary Education, Science
and Technology.
Page 43, Para 295: Government will
invest in the renovation, upgrading and
GRF’s Reflections
There are no specific details about the participation
of the PWDs within the economic and social
development of Mauritius. The State fails to
elucidate the concept of ‘new development needs’
in relations to the PWDs.
The Government fails to elaborate on the equal and
fair distribution of the amount allocated to the
Ministry of Education in terms of Special Needs
Development Education.
The Government fails to elaborate on the equal and
fair distribution of the amount allocated to the

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 refurbishment of over 70 primary and
secondary schools.
Page 43, Para, 296: E-learning
technologies are fundamental in
improving access to and delivery of
education:
(a) Government will invest some
Rs100M in the deployment of
wireless local area network in 155
secondary schools in Mauritius and
Rodrigues
(b) A National e-Learning Platform will
be developed to connect educators
of secondary schools with their
students.
(c) The DBM Ltd will provide financing
facilities to households for
acquisition of IT equipment for
educational purpose.
Page 43, Para 297: As we move towards a
knowledge based and innovation driven
economy, we need to expand capacity,
and have a greater diversity of courses
especially in the fields of new technologies
and innovation.
Page 43, Para 299: As we develop and
modernise our education system, we also
have to ensure its inclusiveness.
Page 44, Para 308: Some 2,570 tablets will
be provided to students of Grades 10 to 13
for families in the existing SRM.
Ministry of Education in terms of Special Needs
Development Education and inclusive education.
The State made no specific mention of any SEN schools
which will come within the frame of “renovation,
upgrading and refurbishment.”
Advancements in the educational system is welcome,
however, leaving the students with disabilities out is my
serious concern. All elearning platforms should adhere
to WCAG 2.1 standards. All videos/television channels
imparting education should have sign language
interpretation, captions and audio descriptions,
Internet access should be free to the PWDs to assist
them in their studies.
I am worried and concerned about the students with
disabilities who are not well-equipped with the
proper assistive devices and platforms to access the
e-learning platforms nationwide. During the
confinement, the disabled students were
methodically left behind with the State- established
online educational platforms. It, therefore, is an issue
which the Government should solve at the earliest to
ensure an equitable education.
Disbursing funds and opening financial facilities to
the citizens are certainly welcoming initiatives.
Nevertheless, they lack constructive and distinct
information about the PWDs to really benefit from
these facilities in accessing the finances to acquire
assistive devices.
The State needs to be ‘clear’ about the concept of
‘greater diversity’ in terms of inclusion for the PWDs.
There is no mention of the adaptability of the courses
to accommodate the students with disabilities. The
Mauritian knowledge and innovation-driven hub
needs to accommodate and include the PWDs
The word ‘inclusiveness’ is superficially used with no
precision within the education system and no
mention of PWDs.
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Page 44, Para 300: I am therefore
earmarking an amount of Rs 138M as the
grant-in-aid to NGOs running Special
Education Needs (SEN) Schools.
Page 44, Para 301: In addition, I am
providing a one-off grant Rs 100K to each
Special Education Needs (SEN) school run
by NGOs to help them improve their
learning environment,
The declaration to provide tablets to the students
made no clear-cut statement about the students with
disabilities; assistive technology proves to be a great
help for them in their studies. Students with
disabilities need technology to assist them in their
education.
Allocation of NGO Grants is a recurrent expense
allocated to cater for the society. The
inconsequential rise from Rs 110M to RS 138M in the
NGOs’ grants of the Government Financial is limiting
in scope which does not allow NGOs to concretise
proposals and projects in the disability sector.
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V Ratification of UNCRPD and Reservations by
the Government
Article 13 of the United Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
lays down the obligation of member states to ensure the effective participation of
Persons with Disabilities in all legal proceedings including their capacity to witness.
In the Initial Report submitted by States parties under
Article 35 of the Covenant on the implementation of
the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities in 2012, the Government of Mauritius
committed to ensure the full realization of the rights
of Persons with Disabilities. Nonetheless, the State of
Mauritius highlighted three reservations on the
UNCRPD. These reservations commendably act as
impediments for the legal rights of the PWDs.
To this date, The Government has maintained the
retain of the reservations with a ‘political
unwillingness’ to ratify the UNCRPD laws for the
PWDs. By upholding the reservations, this causes
serious hindrances in empowering the emancipation
of the Persons with Disabilities in Mauritius. The
grievances of the PWDs are not taken seriously. The
signed and ratified Convention 2007 and 2010 did not
alleviate nor improve the life and conditions of the
Persons with Disabilities and calls for the introduction
and implementation of the Disability Law. These
reservations have undeniably proven that the “full
realization of the rights of Persons with Disabilities” is
not taken into serious consideration. It would have
been better if the Government focuses on the
reiteration of the provisions.
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Government’s 3 reservations
Article 11 of the Convention which deals
with situations of risks and humanitarian
emergencies. However, the Government
of Mauritius is considering removing the
reservation on Article 11 in the short-
term in view of the forthcoming
Mauritius Disaster Management Bill.
Article 9.2 (d) which calls on Member
States to provide in buildings and other
facilities open to the public signage in
Braille and in easy to read and
understandable forms;” The reservation
has been made in view of the costs
involved in providing access through
Braille signage in all public facilities. The
Government proposes to remove this
reservation in due course as further
developments take place.
Article 24.2(b) which states that
“persons with disabilities can access
inclusive, quality and free primary and
secondary education….” This is because
though Mauritius has a policy of
inclusive education, given the current
situation wherein educational
provisioning for children with disabilities
is largely taken care of through special
schools, it is expected that special schools
will continue to operate alongside
inclusive education until there is total
mainstreaming. The Government is
working towards this goal and proposes
to remove the reservation in due course.
VI World Bank and UNCRPD
Mauritius, being one of the funded nation-states by the World Bank, is under the
obligation to address the conditions, rights and empowerment of the PWDs within the
stipulations. It is high time now that Mauritius pledges for the World Bank Group
Commitments on Disability-Inclusive Development which are listed below:

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VII GRF’s Advocacy
GRF’s Advocacy:
The Republic of Mauritius has engaged itself to fulfilling
its commitment towards the Persons with Disabilities
enshrined in the UNCRPD Convention following the
signature of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities in 2007 and subsequently, its ratification in 1. Inclusive education
2010. More so, it is the duty of a caring Government to system
2. Web accessibility
enact the urgent need to ensure that the fundamental
3. Pension scheme
rights of Persons with Disabilities are respected. They 4. Unemployment rate
have an equal access to education and safe environment 5. Health care and adequate
for them to lead their lives in dignity. living conditions
6. Legislative provisions.
In line with the same commitment, the Global Rainbow
Foundation advocates for the recommendations which
should be considered by NGOs in the disability sector, all
political parties and Ministries, responsible for the
welfare of its citizens and the social affairs of the Republic
of Mauritius as well as to Persons with Disabilities and
their parents. GRF advocacy functions on these salient
Disability determinants and orients its efforts to:

•Inclusive Education System

As a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), GRF aims for inclusive education for
students with disabilities as well as contribute in the development of the education
sector of a welfare state like Mauritius. GRF has identified a few mechanisms which will
ensure inclusion of students with a human rights-based approach in a disabled-friendly
educative environment with the collaboration of all education authorities.

•Web Accessibility
If people are unaware of what is happening in their society or if the actions of those who
rule them are camouflaged, then they are prevented from taking a significant part in the
affairs of the society. Access to information is thus a crucial facilitator of good
governance. With strong advocacy power, GRF advocates to improve access to ICT for
persons with disabilities.

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•Pension Scheme
The population of Persons with Disabilities cries out unfair treatment when by default
at the age of 60, the Basic Invalidity Pension (BIP) is revoked to be replaced by the Basic
Retirement Pension (BRP) and Carer’s allowance only. There need to be an increase in
the pension schemes for Persons with Disabilities who need constant care and attention
or who are supported by health care providers.

•Unemployment Rate
The unemployment of PWDs remains a huge concern since most employers are not
complying with The Training and Employment of Disabled Persons Act 1996 (amended
in 2012), which stipulates that 3% of the workforce should be PWDs, where an employer
has a more workforce of more than 35 employees. Government needs to set up a system
or infrastructure to facilitate employment.

•Health Care and Adequate Living Conditions

The Global Rainbow Foundation engages to meet the unmet needs of elderly citizens
and persons with disabilities by advocating for accessibility of built environment,
products and services to provide adequate health care support. Data shows that poor
living conditions associated with inadequate healthcare support results in disability-
prone health issues.

•Legislative Provisions.
There is an urgent need to review the legislative provisions in view of advocating for the
rights of Persons with Disabilities. There is no specific legislation in Mauritius which
specifically handles discriminatory and marginalizing issues dealt by Persons with
Disabilities. GRF advocates strongly for the introduction of the Disability Bill in Mauritius
as one of its 2020 project.

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VIII GRF Recommendations
‘Leaving no one behind’ GRF’S
RECOMMENDATIONS
Through its stipulated recommendations, GRF invites all
parties and the Government to advocate and support our
mission in view of empowering Persons with Disabilities
1. Access to assistive
and Elderly citizens.
devices and
technology
Access to assistive devices and technology for the 2. Provisions for
students with disabilities is a pre-requirement to ensure accessibility measures
equal access to education. We hope the Budget 2020-21 3. Recruitment of
will cater for an even distribution of the tablets. Persons with
Disabilities
Provisions for accessibility measures as per standards 4. The Open Data Portal
(ISO) for persons with disabilities, regarding the Rs 310 5. Proper supervision of
million allocated for upgrading educational hardware and 4 secondary schools
6. Training of 184
infrastructure in our training institutions.
Support Teachers
7. A designed curriculum
Recruitment of Persons with Disabilities among the 8. Training to adapt to
future 2500 youths who will benefit from training multiple disabilities A
coupled with industrial placement, under the National designed
Skills Development Programme.

The Open Data Portal which aims to act as a single point of reference for public datasets
to be accessible as per web accessibility standards WCAG 2.1

Proper supervision of 4 secondary schools which will be adapted to make them more
accessible for students with disabilities.

Training of 184 Support Teachers who will on how to assist students with disabilities.
Our motto is: Recruit Teachers to Teach for Inclusion.

The Government should add a particular designed curriculum adapted to the education
needs of students with different learning needs.

Training should be done to adapt to multiple disabilities. This would resolve some
adaptation problems and increase performance level of teachers being transferred from
one specialized school to another.
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IX India and Disability Act
In 2007, India ratified the UNCRPD which ushered the enactment phase of a new
legislation in lieu of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 (PWD Act, 1995) and
subsequently in 2010 to make it compliant with the UNCRPD. It was based on the Indian
DPOs demand of a new law on disability be formulated which is rights-based. The
Parliament passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD Act, 2016)
following a hectic series of consultations, meetings, discussions and drafting process.
The Act underpins the “nondiscrimination, full and effective participation and inclusion
in society, respect for difference and acceptance of disabilities as part of human diversity
and humanity, equality of opportunity, accessibility, equality between men and women,
respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities, and respect for the right
of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.” The Act calls for a “paradigm
shift in thinking about disability from a social welfare concern to a human rights issue.”

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 No.49 of 2016:

An Act to give effect to the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and for
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

WHEREAS the United Nations General Assembly adopted its Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities on the 13th day of December 2006.
WHEREAS the aforesaid convention lays down the following principles for
empowerment of Persons with Disabilities:

UNCRPD Principles for Empowerment of PWDs

(a) respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one's
own choices, and independence of persons;
(b) non-discrimination;
(c) full and effective participation and inclusion in society;
(d) respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human
diversity and humanity;
(e) equality of opportunity;
(f) accessibility;
(g) equality between men and women;
(h) respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of
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The Global Rainbow Foundation supports the enactment of such an Act to empower and
ensure the rights of Persons with Disabilities are respected for them to lead their life
with dignity. GRF in its advocacy calls upon the Government of Mauritius to leverage on
the well-established relationships with Indian to emulate and adopt the Indian model of
PWDs inclusiveness. Mauritius can learn from India in the way it ratifies and dismantles
the provisions made for a more inclusive society. Mauritius can acquire the necessary
technical expertise from India to draft and enact the Disability Bill so that the Mauritian
PWDs community can fully enjoy their human and democratic rights legally.

X Conclusion
The Global Rainbow Foundation’s 2020 mission is to advocate for the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities Act within the tailored stipulations of the UNCRPD to ensure a Disability-
inclusive legislation in Mauritius. GRF’s efforts are directed towards ensuring the
sustainability of Mauritius in the PWDs inclusion within the socio-cultural, political,
employment and economic independence with dignity. The Disability Act is a powerful
tool to bring a radical change in mindsets to fight against marginalization, discrimination
and guarantee opportunities for all ‘Leaving No One Behind’.

GRF 2020 International Disability Webinar Series

The first initiative in this direction will be the launch of a webinar on advocacy for the
rights-based disability legislation; sharing the Indian Experience on 18th June 2020. The
webinar will specifically focus on the Indian Experience in drafting and establishing the
PWD Act, 2016 (RPWD Act, 2016) to legally empower the PWDs and seek to eradicate
prejudices, inequity and exclusionary attitudes towards the PWDs. It will set the base
and present examples of good practice to not only raise awareness about the PWDs on
a multidimensional plane, but most importantly, enable the persons with disabilities to
enjoy their birth and democratic human rights. The Indian Experience sets the starting
point of a teamwork engaged to share, discuss and deliver on the most apt strategies to
draft the Disability Bill in Mauritius as well as implement the proper strategies for the
PWDs to enjoy their full and equal rights.

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