The country’s largest representative organisation for the disabled‚ Disabled People South Africa (DPSA) is planning to boycott government-organised events on Thursday to commemorate International Day of People with Disabilities‚ saying its dignity cannot be bought with a T-shirt or a plate of pap and wors. DPSA noted on Wednesday that there were many victories worth celebrating by the disability sector in a democratic South Africa. However‚ these gains were outweighed by the “blatant disregard by the government of the lives of people with disabilities dating from 2009 to this day”‚ it said. “Since 2009 the President has not attended a single IDPD (International Day of People with Disabilities)‚ a record distinct to the Youth Day or Women’s Day‚” said DPSA national chairperson Robert Masambo.“Against our insights and international practice‚ the President chose to pigeonhole disability and placed it under the Department of Social Development as though we are mere objects of pity.“Responding to our protest in 2014‚ the President established a Presidential Working Group on Disability. To this day that working group has not held a single meeting; a record far distant from other Presidential Working Groups. Disabled People’s Organisations of the Eastern Cape recently took to the streets and their government could not even find time to meet with them‚” Masambo asserted. He added: “It is crystal clear that the South African government does not take people with disabilities serious‚ nor is it interested in decisively intervening against the poverty‚ poor education and high unemployment that people with disabilities are subjected to.“We have noted that as a tick box exercise‚ the Government will be hosting marches and rallies tomorrow the 3rd of December 2015. The National event is said to be taking place in Pretoria tomorrow and various provinces will be hosting provincial events. We reject the notion of a disability parade that these events will become. You can’t raise disability awareness by a lousy disability contest.“Disabled People South Africa and many persons of integrity have decided to stay away from these events. We will not participate in a state-funded frolic when the fundamentals aimed at restoring our dignity are not in place.“Our dignity cannot be bought with a T-shirt and a plate of pap en wors.”..