Give PWDs more job opportunities 

 Mr Willy Atono, who is visually impaired, was recently appointed as  a Grade One Magistrate. His appointment came after an endless job search. COURTESY/PHOTO 

What you need to know:

The issue: 
PWDs
Our view:  
Although the recruitment diversity is long overdue, we applaud the Justice Kabiito-led commission for thinking of employing people with disabilities in the Judiciary.

This week, we reported about the first ever appointed visually impaired Grade One Magistrate, breaking a tradition of not employing visually impaired Ugandans to preside over cases in the Judiciary.
Mr Willy Atono, born blind, made history when he was last week, among several Grade One Magistrates appointed to the Judiciary.

Explaining why the tradition had to be broken, Justice Benjamin Kabiito, the chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), a government body that is mandated to recruit and discipline errant judicial officers, said it was time that they improve the diverse profile of the judicial officers that they recruit.
He said for the Judiciary to have judicial officers from diverse backgrounds and minority communities, helps to inform their appreciation of challenges to access to justice that such communities face and have to surmount daily.

This, he said in the end, would improve the administration of justice and strengthen the rule of law and enhance public confidence in the Judiciary.
Although the recruitment diversity is long overdue, we applaud the Justice Kabiito-led commission for thinking of employing people with disabilities (PWDs) in the Judiciary.
We are all familiar with the old saying that disability is not inability.

 The above statement has always had unjust treatment rooted in the misconception that disability entails inability. As a result, people living with disabilities are often left out of employment opportunities.
Most jobs can be performed by someone with a disability, and given the right environment, most people with disabilities can be as productive as their other counterparts.
However, this is not the position, since most reports world over show that persons with disabilities, experience significantly lower employment rates and much higher unemployment rates than persons without disabilities.

Therefore, our appeal to employers and especially government that is among the largest employers in the country, is that they should consider employing PWDs as long as they have demonstrated ability to perform.
We also appeal to relevant stakeholders such as the Equal Opportunities Commission to come up with reward channels to recognise government agencies and private entities that deliberately employ PWDs.