The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE final draft of the proposed Disabilities Bill is nearing completion and will be presented to Cabinet, Social Services Minister Melanie Griffin said yesterday.

Mrs Griffin was asked to respond to concerns raised by disabled people to The Tribune earlier this week.

She said that while it was disappointing that there was some misunderstanding over the legislation, the Christie administration has not forgotten about it.

“I can tell you,” she said, “Prime Minister Perry Christie being who he is, and Melanie Griffin, being who she is, I don’t know what it will take not to get it there.”

“We have one issue that we are working out, but the draft bill is on its way to Cabinet.”

On Monday, members of the disabled community raised concerns that National Insurance Board payouts are cut off when disabled people find jobs. This affects their quality of life, they said.

Mrs Griffin said: “A legitimate concern of (disabled) persons who receive National Insurance benefit, is what happens once they get a job. That is a question that has been put to us, and we believe that is a matter that the commission can address.

“I believe we will see some results with regard to that.”

Earlier this week, activist Erin Brown criticised the proposed legislation and said it did not provide opportunities for mature disabled persons, who she felt were trapped in a destructive cycle of dependence.

In an interview with The Tribune, she also pointed to the lack of a non-partisan system to ensure disabled persons are able to vote during elections.

Ms Brown, a cancer survivor and amputee, said: “To me that is a clear cut view of how the government feels about persons with disabilities. There is nothing put in place for the disabled electorate to vote unless your family member or somebody who knows you makes it a point to take you to vote. There’s nothing in place for you to go get registered, maybe you were registered before you were disabled, or face limited mobility, but even if you are (registered), how do you get to the polls?

“It should be something set up government-wise, regardless who the party is or who you’re voting for, that you are able to get to the polls. It’s ridiculous, what if I don’t know who I want my party to be? Who do I pick to pick me up?

Yesterday, Mrs Griffin said she felt that persons with disabilities were adequately served by political candidates; however, she added that the proposed legislation will facilitate such concerns.

She said: “As we know in the Bahamas, the way elections are set up, candidates see and provide transportation for persons with disabilities to the polls because they go door-to-door and they get all of that information.

“I had two wheelchairs at the polling station where I was, and I allowed everyone to use it.

“One good thing about the legislation is that it puts in place a commission, made up of a number of representatives along with the relevant governmental agencies and they can make recommendations to that commission to see to it that it happens. The legislation also puts in place that the polling places must be accessible.”

Mrs Griffin maintained that the legislation represented a strong foundation for progress on issues of inclusion and equality for the disabled community.

Once enacted, she said, there will be immediate changes in addition to a staggered infrastructure mandate.

Mrs Griffin said: “There is a process, the legislation itself puts in place a process, and it also puts in place an opportunity for any organisation to be able to say this is an unreasonable request of us, and then it will be considered.“

She added: “The legislation is not intended to be burdensome but let’s look at the fact that we have had persons in this country who have been in the outskirts of equal opportunities for so long.

“We must as we move forward in particular and the legislation will hopefully mean that every person as we move forward with any development, that the development is disability inclusive.”