By Joyce Namutebi

THE Federation of Uganda Employers has warned persons with disabilities (PWDs) against using their predicament and fronting the issue of rights as the basis for demanding employment opportunities.

The director of Marketing and Membership Development, Stephen Jjingo, said disabled persons should instead prove to employers that they are capable of performing.

“Employers are not there for charity, but to be helped by people who can deliver,” Jjingo said on Friday. He warned PWDs against presenting disability as an excuse for non performance.

Jjingo was speaking at a workshop called to popularise Article 27 of the UN convention on the rights of PWDs and other domestic laws that relate to disabled persons.

The article recognises the right of disabled persons to work and earn a living. It requires states that are party to the convention to report on legislative measures taken to ensure protection against discrimination in any form of employment and to recognise the right of PWDs to work on a basis of equality with others. Uganda ratified it in 2008.

Jjingo dismissed the notion of seeking employment and quoting the Disability Act and the rights issue as the basis. “When you enter somebody’s office, tell them what you can do.”

Under the Income Tax Waivers Act, incentives are provided to private employers who employ 10 or more disabled persons.