WCFCB and Government ease disabled workers’ mobility
Ministry of Labour and Social Services (MLSS) Acting Permanent Secretary (Acting PS) Zechariah Luhanga (Far Right) at a WCFCB wheelchair handover at Mkango Cresta Golf View Hotel in Lusaka on Friday, 31st March 2023 – Picture by Derrick Sinjela
Minister of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) Brenda Mwika Tambatamba says the United Party for National Development (UPND) New Dawn Administration’s resolve toward improvement of public services under the Workers Compensation Fund Control Board (WCFCB) Employment Injury Compensation System in Zambia, writes Derrick Sinjela.
Officiating at a Friday 31st March, 2023 Mkango Golf View Hotel Handover Ceremony of Wheel Chairs to beneficiaries in Lusaka, convened by WCFCB, Ms. Tambatamba reiterated Government’s practical desire of being more responsive to the needs of disabled workers at critical stages of their lives.
In a speech read by MLSS Acting Permanent Secretary, Mr. Zechariah Luhanga, Ms. Tambatamba was pleased to note with satisfaction the great effort being made by the WCFCB Acting Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Patrick Siampwili to improve the welfare of differently abled beneficiaries through the provision of proper and adequate rehabilitation services such as assistive medical devices.
“This handover ceremony is a clear demonstration of the commitment by the board to provide social security interventions that reduce the vulnerability of differently abled persons to poverty as a result of loss of earning capacity due to employment related injuries and diseases. We have no doubt that the lives of the intended beneficiaries, who have been experiencing considerable difficulty with participation in social and economic activities due to physical restrictions, will be significantly improved with the provision of motorized and manual wheel chairs.
Government, through Ms. Tambatamba expressed delight that twenty-nine (29) wheel chairs valued at six hundred and nineteen thousand six hundred and fifty-five Kwacha (K619, 655) were procured and handed over to beneficiaries Lusaka Province through, symbolizing ongoing rehabilitation services being provided countrywide.
Ms. Tambatamba hoped that the wheelchairs will be effectively used and maintained in good condition as a symbol of our commitment to improving the lives of the people under the WCFCB Employment Injury Social Protection Scheme.
Ms. Tambatamba urged the Workers Compensation Fund Control Board to continue providing rehabilitation services for workers injured in the course of employment in Zambia, including instituting a review of wide range of benefits provided to beneficiaries.
