By Karen Sibanda
The Disability Amalgamation Community Trust (DACT) has urged the government to allocate resources for documentation reform in the 2026 national budget, aiming to ensure people with disabilities (PWDs) can access essential services currently denied to them due to a lack of identification documents.
Speaking during a 2026 national budget consultation meeting in Ngundu, Masvingo, on October 10, DACT Executive Director Henry Chivhanga called for the inclusion of mobile registration services targeted at PWDs in remote areas.
“One of the identified gaps includes neglect of documentation reform for PWDs. There are no provisions for mobile registration or inclusive outreach. This leads to continued exclusion of persons with disabilities from services due to lack of national IDs,” said Chivhanga.
“We recommend that government budget funds for documentation reform in which they will allocate resources for mobile registration units and support inclusive outreach in collaboration with civil society.”
He said while the problem of undocumented individuals affects many in Zimbabwe, people with disabilities especially children face unique barriers. He noted that many mothers of children with disabilities were abandoned by their partners and left to navigate documentation processes alone.
“Mostly women who give birth to children with disabilities are left or divorced by their husbands. The process of getting the proper documentation for the child is left for the mother, who is also faced with the burden of caring for the child alone. This is why in most cases children are left in the custody of other guardians like grandmothers, who often do not have required documents like birth records. Our request, therefore, is for the government to allocate funds for outreaches specifically for PWDs,” he said.
Chivhanga called on the government to adopt disability-responsive budgeting practices across ministries to align national fiscal planning with the National Disability Policy and Vision 2030.
“There is an absence of disability-responsive budgeting and ring-fenced allocations for disability programmes. To align the 2026 Budget Strategy with the National Disability Policy and Vision 2030, I respectfully propose the institutionalisation of disability-responsive budgeting, introduction of ring-fenced allocations across ministries, and development of a disability inclusion scorecard.”
He also recommended the enforcement of inclusive infrastructure standards and adoption of universal design principles in all public projects, alongside investment in accessible transport and information communication technologies.
On matters of climate and economic justice, Chivhanga called for people with disabilities to be prioritised in programmes on agriculture, housing, and disaster preparedness, with disability indicators integrated into climate resilience planning.
