A Guardianship Act, which will make a great difference to the life of a number of people with a disability, is in the pipeline, Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina said yesterday.
Currently, adults who cannot take decisions on their own are interdicted, which means that all their rights are withdrawn, according to Doreen Clark, the legal advisor of the National Commission Persons with Disability (KNPD).
The proposal, she said, would provide the opportunity for a tailor-made guardian for each person.
"The guardian will see what each of these persons can do on his own, what he can do with help and what he cannot do, in a bid to allow people with a disability to live as freely as possible," she said.
Dr Clark stressed that the guardian would only assist the person where needed. The draft has been forwarded to the attorney general's office.
KNPD executive director Frank Bezzina pointed out that under the current system, a curator is appointed for people who are interdicted because they cannot make their own decisions. The curator is for life and does not have to answer to anybody. Many a time, the parents of the person with disability take on the role of curator.
The announcement about the Guardianship Act was made during a press conference to launch a report about the complaints under the Equal Opportunities Act dealt with by the commission during the past year. The report shows that the KNPD dealt with 143 complaints of discrimination, 85 of which were made between October 2004 and last September.
The number of complaints this year increased by 46 per cent over 2003-2004.
Complaints about accessibility and education topped the list, with the commission receiving 25 complaints about each. These were closely followed by complaints on the granting of objects and services, on which the commission received 24 complaints. The KNPD also received five complaints related to work, four about houses and two regarding insurance.
A board set up by the commission decided 71 cases out of which only 27 were deemed "acceptable with conditions", while the rest were considered unacceptable.
The report - which was launched as part of the activities leading to the International Day for Persons with Disability on Saturday - shows that 66 cases are still pending.
The majority of complaints - 52 cases which make up 61 per cent of all new cases made in the last year - were against the government, government organisations or companies and local councils. The KNPD concluded almost two-thirds of cases against the government, while two complaints against the Health Division have been taken to court.
However the commission is finding it difficult to conclude complaints related to the Church, and has only managed to conclude 18 per cent of such cases.
Mr Bezzina said a good number of parish churches were not accessible for people with a disability. One of them is the Mosta parish church, which is also a tourist attraction. Although a ramp leading from the street to the parvis had been put up, this did not have a banister, rendering it useless.
The report shows that over the past year the court concluded three cases, all in favour of the commission. Over the past year the commission started a consultation exercise to revise the Equal Opportunities Act to make it more effective and more in line with EU directives.
The complaints bring the total since 2000 - when the law came into force - to 364, almost half of which, 145, regard accessibility.
Speaking during the launch of the report, Equal Opportunities Act coordinator Marianne Debono explained that the law gives the commission the obligation to receive complaints about discrimination, investigate them, mediate and if necessary take them to court or for arbitration.
Both Ms Cristina and Labour MP Marie Louise Coleiro stressed the need to persuade employers that employing a person with a disability is an investment.
"We need a more aggressive campaign targeting employers," Ms Cristina said.
Ms Coleiro said many employers were not aware of the abilities of disabled people, and a strong campaign for employers was needed. She said a number of people with a disability were disillusioned because they had never been given the opportunity to work.
She pointed out, however, that it was no use employing people with disability if no support services, including transport, were in place. The minister said attempts were being made to grant personalised services but funds and equipment were needed for this. Transport services are given to 24 people at a cost of Lm18,000 a year.