The Speaker of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature (MPL), Makhosazane Masilela, took her Legacy Project to the Dundonald Disability Centre to address some of the issues experienced by the special-needs community.

The visit on Wednesday, March 26, formed part of the activities of MPL’s Taking the Legislature to the People week-long programme in the Chief Albert Luthuli Local Municipality.

She sponsored the centre with a laptop, a photocopier, dignity packs, a JoJo tank, and seeds for the centre to sustain itself and food parcels.

ALSO READ: Roadshow draws attention to Department of Education’s language strategy

She urged the community to be more inclusive towards people living with disabilities. “In some areas, people with disabilities are hidden from the community and abused. Sometimes, we forget that people with disabilities are even more brilliant and wiser than some of us who might think we are better,” Masilela said.

The centre manager, Nelsiwe Ndlangamandla, appreciated the Speaker’s visit and urged the provincial government to promote the use of sign language so that people with speech disabilities can access government services and programmes.

Ndlangamandla said there are five people living with disabilities at the centre who are not receiving their disability grants, and Masilela vowed that her office would intervene to resolve the matter.