#ZUPCO
The Zimbabwe United Passenger
Company (ZUPCO) took delivery
of 90 Golden Dragon buses
which added to the parastatal’s
fleet but still none of the buses
are disability friendly.
According to Zimbabwe’s
regulations, the State owned
ZUPCO is the sole public
transporter following the
banning of private transport
operators nearly two years ago.
It is sad to note that government
continues to ignore the need to
create a public transport system
that is modelled to meet the
needs of persons with
disabilities.
This is not just limited to public
transport as in many sectors of
the community and the
economy, persons with disability
still face discrimination.
ZPP has continued to record
cases where persons with
disability are denied aid and this
goes to show why government
needs to streamline its efforts to
ensure all sectors of the
Zimbabwean society are
disability friendly.
The government’s National
Disability Framework should be
a living document and
government can take into
account the efforts by non-state
players such as the ZPP, who
continue to research, advocate
and bring to light issues faced by
persons with disability on a daily
basis.
ZPP has facilitated interface
platforms for persons with
disabilities and the Ministry of
Transport to ensure that persons
with disabilities access public
transport easily but the situation
has not improved.