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Programme director, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Our Constitution was drafted to create equal opportunities to every single South African, irrespective of race, sex, creed or physical abilities.

Unfortunately this important principle is often neglected or forgotten in practice. We are still confronted on a daily basis by examples of discrimination against people with disabilities.

The infamous "whites only" signs were the visible signposts of an apartheid society that discriminated against people on the basis of the colour of their skins. However, we are still living in a society where the entire physical environment caters only for the needs of persons with abilities and shuts out a significant portion of our population.

The recent census has shown that about two million South Africans - or 5 percent of the population - can be considered to be severely disabled. People with moderate disabilities increase this figure to 12 percent.

However, less than half a percent of these people are currently employed in the open market and less than 50 percent of children with disabilities have access to formal education.

These figures give rise to deep concern and great alarm. I urge you to take these statistics seriously and to assist the government in creating an environment that will assist the disabled to regain their humanity alongside all of us.

Government took the lead through the release of the White Paper on an Integrated National Disability Strategy. This was a major step to end the long history of separation of disabled people and to work towards a process of full integration into society.

Central to this assertion is their right to determine and shape their own future. The White Paper itself was the result of a three year period of a very broad concentration guided and driven by people with disability themselves across a very wide spectrum.

The aim of the White Paper is to ensure that those with disabilities can play a full and participatory role in society. For too long disabled people had been excluded from the mainstream and experienced difficulties in accessing fundamental rights.

We are not merely paying lip service to this principle but also demonstrate our commitment to the cause by establishing an office of the status of disabled people in the office of the Deputy President and disability desk in the offices of provincial premiers.

South Africa has been one of the first countries to establish a co-ordinating committee on disability, as required by the United Nations. This committee has various substructures looking at issues relating to rehabilitation, equalisation of opportunities and awareness raising.

Our aim is to develop the capacity of people with disability and to enhance their independence through programmes aimed at enabling them to play an active role in society.

In this regard, our bench mark for success will be when fewer people with disability depend on social security. Government is currently spending about R3 billion per year on disability grants to nearly 500 000 people and a further R130 million on social welfare services for the disabled.

One of our objectives today is to launch the national disability fund that is aimed at helping to empower and develop entrepreneurs in the economic sector. We call on the private sector to give their generous support to this noble cause.

May I remind you that the Empowerment Equity Bill recently passed by Parliament also requires clearly defined actions by the private sector in improving the work conditions of employees with disability. We trust that we will see visible progress on this front very soon.

There is, however, a whole range of practical steps we can take to improve the quality of life of people with disability. One of the most important is to make buildings, workplaces and public facilities more accessible to people with disabilities.

Housing developers can, for instance, ensure that a percentage of houses built in the province are customised for people with disability.

Finally, I believe that many of the problems encountered by people with disability are not medical but of a social nature. The discriminatory attitudes of other people need to be drastically changed.

People with disability can only participate fully in society once we all free ourselves from the negative attitudes we have. I trust that functions such as these will go a long way towards changing these attitudes.

I thank you.

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