THE Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled (LNFOD) has taken a shot at the Ministry of Social Development, accusing it of the manner in which it intends to implement the disability grant.

In a statement released on Friday, LNFOD complains that the ministry did not involve it in the design and formulation of the disability grant, resulting in the exclusion of voices of persons with disabilities in matters directly affecting them

LANFOD further argues that its members were on July 15 only told of the formulation of the grant by the ministry.

“The ministry seeks to determine the severity of disability by looking at the impairment or body condition of a person with disability instead of following the law by looking at the social and economic situation of an applicant with disability.
“It is important to note at this juncture that in the human rights context, severity of a disability is not necessarily caused by the seriousness of his or her impairment alone, the social and environmental barriers play a significant role in limiting the full and effective participation of a person with impairment.

“Persons with disabilities are hindered by the social and environmental barriers they face in life to participate and not so much by their impairments,” the statement further shows.
LANFOD has therefore appealed to the ministry to reconsider using the existing social tools to determine the situation of an applicant with disability and adopt a new tool, which considers the socio-economic barriers.