Making Smart Cities Smartly Accessible

FEBRUARY, 2016 – 15:00 | PAR ALI JOOKHUN

Smart Cities – smartly titled, youth appealing and towards a modern Mauritius. The Smart Cities are often bargained by the Government as a promise of reviving the economical landscape and part of making the population dream of the second economic miracles. Nonetheless, with much disappointment, people living with disabilities are forgotten in speeches and actions are not present to give relief or incentives!Attitudes must change.

Often, the idea is that disabled issues are the concerns of the Ministry of Social Security or non-governmental organisations. Reality is otherwise – the Social Security has limited powers; for example it cannot interfere in matters of public infrastructure and infrastructural accessibility for people living with disabilities by providing ramps, etc. and NGOs cannot make laws for parliament and they do not have unlimited resources! Inclusion initiatives are still few and far between promises and actions.

Attitudes must change and we must realise that people are disabled by birth, through mishaps or in the most natural way that will affect us all – through ageing!

Thus, disability concerns us all: from individuals to local governments and municipal councils, as well as the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, companies and other stakeholders such as bus companies to cite a few.

Source: Making Smart Cities Smartly Accessible | Le Mauricien