Legislators have called on Government to devise measures in monitoring implementation and direct contribution for different services offered to Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).

Presenting the findings of a survey carried out in November last year on how local governments and centres caring for persons with disabilities fulfill their responsibilities, members the parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Affairs, said local leaders, especially at the district level, do not monitor the implementation of aid allocated to the centres.

The chairperson for the committee, MP Amiel Ngabo Semahundo, said some centres receive disabled people yet they are unable to give them needed assistance.

He said some centres were characterised with unclear working conditions, poor hygiene in bed and dining rooms, malnutrition among children and poor quantity of food served to children,” he said.

"There are some centres where children were being served porridge in the morning and evening yet they receive donations,” Semahundo said.

He said some centres have no employees caring for disabled children, especially at night, while others lacked special needs attendants.

He said hearing impaired people still face communication challenges because of lack of enough sign language translators and teachers, while children from poor families still face access to medication related challenges due to financial constraints.

The vice-chairperson for the committee, Alphonsine Mukarugema, said the Office of the Prime Minister should design rules and regulations describing requirements to fulfill before setting up such centres.

She said they should position a person in-charge of helping them access services.

The commission also called on the Minister for Gender and Family Promotion to set up regulations for centres caring for children with mental disabilities.

Mukarugema said the Ministry of Education should develop a Kinyarwanda sign language dictionary within six months and introduce a curriculum for visual and hearing impaired persons in schools.

MP Gaston Rusiha said there was poor implementation of laws protecting rights of persons with disabilities.

"These problems and recommendations are described with laws, remember these laws were set up in 2007. Ten years have passed and nothing has been done. For example, all districts were required to have an officer in charge of persons with disabilities, but Gakenke and Rwamagana still don’t have,” he said.

Rusiha said University of Rwanda’s College of Education should offer both special needs education and inclusive education for training people to teach in all categories of disabilities.

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