Abstract:
Introduction: Discrimination against people with disabilities is evident in the
social and economic environment. The categories of disabilities that are mostly
affected by discrimination are physical, visual, hearing and mental impairment.
Aim: The study was aimed at evaluating the employment and integration
strategies of persons with disabilities in the Limpopo Department of
Agriculture. This was done by evaluating the recruitment and employment
methods of persons with disabilities; investigating the level of participation of
persons with disabilities in the departmental activities and by evaluating the accessibility of the work environment.
Method: The study was a descriptive, quantitative survey design. It described
the perceptions of top management and senior management officials on the
integration and employment of persons with disabilities into the mainstream of
government activities. It described the available integration strategies and
policies in the department as well as the physically accessible structures and
environment to persons with disabilities. Out of a total of 33 senior managers
that were surveyed in this study, only 18 responded.
Results: The study revealed negative attitudes and perceptions in the
department towards people with disabilities. Persons with physical impairment seem to be the most easily employed at a higher rate than other categories such as the visually impaired and the deaf, this was mainly influenced by the accessibility of adverts. On the other hand, a significant measure appeared to
be in place to redress the imbalances in terms of gender.
Conclusion: There was a general agreement that the method of recruitment
was discriminatory against visual and hearing-impaired people, and therefore
Managers must spearhead transformation and equity in their respective
branches/sub- branches.
