Open Facebook to allow us market products, PWDs ask govt
A Facebook user accesses the online social media and social networking service using a virtual private network (VPN) at the weekend. PWDs have appealed to the government to reactivate the platform to enable them market their products. PHOTO/ABUBAKER KIRUNDA
What you need to know:
Mr Juma Ssozi, the male councilor representing PWDs, says intervention by IDIWA was timely owing to the fact that the City Council had failed to organise this day due to limited funds.
Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) have asked the government to reactivate Facebook to enable them to digitally market their products.
In the run up to the 2021 General Elections, the government shut down the online social media and social networking service owned by American technology giant, Meta Platforms, after it deactivated hundreds of accounts run by National Resistance Movement (NRM) supporters.
According to Facebook, the pro-NRM subscribers were using their accounts to flout its (Facebook’s) terms and conditions, including spreading fake news and misinformation.
Despite availability of other social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, WhatsApp, and YouTube, PWDs say Facebook is the most popular and convenient.
Ms Anna Aparo, the chairperson Busoga Gender Based Violence and Disability Network, at the weekend said: “PWDs dealing in knitting, Vaseline, and carpentry used to do digital marketing through Facebook because it was their most-preffered social media platform."
Ms Aparo, who is visually impaired, was speaking ahead of the belated International Day of Persons with Disabilities Commemoration in Jinja City on December 12.
She added: “People with physical disabilities, visual impairments and the deaf find difficulty in movement, unlike PWDs who can move from door-to-door marketing and selling their products. We used to sit in our rooms and reach millions of Ugandans who were using Facebook at the time.”
Ms Aparo says using modern technology through the help of social media platforms, especially Facebook, also simplifies their daily activities, adding: “If the government reinstates Facebook, it will have answered our prayers.”
Ms Elizabeth Kayanga, the Executive Director Integrated Disabled Women Activities (IDIWA), says lifting the ban on Facebook will enable PWDs conduct businesses within the comfort of their homes and engage clients globally.
Ms Kayanga also appealed to the government to reduce taxes on equipment imported by Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), aimed at helping PWDs to do business, including computers and smartphones among others.
Ms Kayanga further explained that IDIWA decided to help in organising the International Day of Persons with Disability in Jinja City because most Local Governments lack money to hold the commemorations.
Mr Juma Ssozi, the male councilor representing PWDs, says intervention by IDIWA was timely owing to the fact that the City Council had failed to organise this day due to limited funds.
Ms Kayanga says the day helps PWDs have a sense of belonging and share their common identities of different disabilities, adding that they plan to meet whoever is concerned with the reactivation of Facebook to forge a way forward.
However, the government Spokesperson, Mr Ofwono Opondo, has ruled out reactivating Facebook in Uganda, saying: “The social media platform suspended pro-government subscribers.”
“We are not reopening Facebook anytime soon because it is tit for tat. Facebook suspended Ugandan users attached to the government over false accusation of abuse,’’ Mr Ofwono said, advising PWDs to use other social media platforms to do business.
Currently, Ugandans are accessing Facebook, albeit illegally, through a virtual private network (VPN) or an encrypted connection over the internet from a devise or network.
