Key Disability Bill Should Not Be Rushed

People with disabilities picketed at a Disability Revolution picket at the Civic Centre in Cape Town last month, demanding better access to public transport.

The deadline for comment on the new Disability Bill is tomorrow, 4 December. But this bill could transform the lives of millions of South Africans. It should not be rushed.

Disabled people die in shack fires. Children with severe and profound disabilities sit in wet conditions in shacks during floods. The departments of public transport, health, education, social development, and private companies all wish that people living with disabilities would remain invisible. Mistreatment by public servants such as police officers, clinic staff, and officials at the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) is rife.

Despite promises over three decades, the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (PRASA) has failed to publish its universal access plan, never mind actually providing access to trains for people living with disabilities.

Disability Revolution is an organisation of people living with disabilities in the Khayelitsha, Klipfontein and Tygerberg health districts of Cape Town. Our organisation was established in 2023, and many of our members are involved with other organisations of people living with disabilities.

In 2007, South Africa ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which requires states to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by persons living with disabilities. The Convention obliges governments to adopt laws and policies that eliminate discrimination, ensure accessibility, and foster inclusion across all aspects of society. Yet, 17 years later, though the Constitution and the Equality Act outlaw discrimination on the grounds of disability, there is no comprehensive law to address injustice and inequality.

Accessibility and inclusion remain distant goals for millions of people living with disabilities.

On 1 October 2024, the South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) published draft legislation as the Protection and Promotion of Persons with Disabilities Bill. It was tasked by the Ministry of Justice to do this in order to fulfil our international obligations.

We learnt of the Bill by accident through #UniteBehind and the People’s Legal Centre.

The draft Protection and Promotion of Persons with Disabilities Bill, and the Discussion Paper which accompanies it, are highly technical and written in language that is inaccessible to many people, particularly those from working-class backgrounds whose home language is not English. Laws should not be designed exclusively for lawyers, judges, or academics. A truly effective law must be understandable to the people it is meant to protect, their caregivers, and the public officials tasked with implementing it.

At Disability Revolution we have been working to translate and workshop parts of the draft bill into isiXhosa, Afrikaans, and South African Sign Language. Many of our members, who mostly have little formal education and live in informal settlements, have struggled to engage with the complex legal language, despite understanding very clearly the challenges they face, their Constitutional rights, and how government could better address their concerns.

This highlights a critical flaw in the consultation process: without sufficient time, resources, and accessible materials, meaningful participation by those most affected is impossible, and the resulting legislation will not be fit for purpose.

The SALRC has provided only two months for public comment on the draft Bill – far too little time for people living with disabilities in marginalised communities to engage meaningfully, especially because it is late in the year. The deadline for comment is tomorrow.

A law as consequential as this one requires effective participation. Community-based organisations, public service officials, government departments and agencies, and even private service providers like taxi operators and e-hailing companies should be involved. Their input is essential to create a law that works in practice and transforms lives.

We have requested that the SALRC extend the consultation deadline to 31 March 2025, to ensure this law is developed in a way that is inclusive, accessible, and informed by the daily experiences of people living with disabilities.

Furthermore, the Bill itself is poorly structured. The content is disorganised, and though the Bill includes broad commitments to accessibility and dignity, it does not specify how these will be achieved in education, healthcare, housing, and transport. Instead of addressing these rights in a detailed and focused manner, the draft relies on vague language, leaving room for misinterpretation and insufficient guidance for implementation. This lack of clarity risks creating inconsistencies in how the law is applied across different sectors and levels of government.

Another significant flaw is the absence of a detailed implementation framework. The Bill does not assign specific duties or provide mechanisms for coordination between national, provincial, and local authorities. For instance, there is no requirement for government departments to develop actionable plans with budgets, timeframes, or targets to address the needs of people living with disabilities. Without these elements, it is unclear how the commitments in the Bill will translate into meaningful action.

If the SALRC improves the Bill’s structure, it could create a law that empowers people living with disabilities. However, this can only happen if there is sufficient time and meaningful engagement to ensure the Bill reflects the needs and voices of all people living with disabilities.

We urge the government and the SALRC to extend the deadline for consultation and to work with organisations like ours to ensure this law achieves its potential to transform the lives of people living with disabilities.

Khanyo Mantshi is with Disability Revolution and Benjy de Kock with #UniteBehind. Leticia Mbuka, Sechaba Lerotoli, Nomathemba Siyolo, Othandwayo Rangula and Marlon Lawrence from Disability Revolution, and Nontsasa Ndalwentle from #UniteBehind, also contributed to this article.

Views expressed are not necessarily those of GroundUp.

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