By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
Sign language experts have urged the government to put in place laws to regulate sign language and sign language interpreters in Uganda.
John Mbulamwana, the Executive Director of the Uganda National Association of the Deaf says that there are more people masquerading as sign language interpreters which affects communication among the hearing impaired in accessing public services.
“Professional Uganda sign language interpreters should be trained, certified and accredited,” said Mbulamwana.
In addition to certifying sign language interpreters, Mbulamwana said,” They should be put on the national public service structure and put on government payroll.”
The UNAD ED is concerned about the exploitation of sign language in Uganda which has become a lucrative business which affects quality and sustainability of the language. He says that more regulation needs to be done to weed out fake sign language interpreters due to the growing number of persons with hearing impairments.
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) report from 2014, there were approximately 1,083,600 deaf individuals in Uganda, making up about 3% of the total population. Despite the government establishing policies to protect the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs), many deaf individuals still face significant challenges, including limited access to information, education and public services, stigma and discrimination.
Asamo Hellen Grace, Minister of State for Disability Affairs in Uganda says that the government is committed to promote and protect sign in Uganda.
“We will ensure that there is proper regulation of Uganda sign language to avoid fake sign language interpreters who may not give accurate sign language,” she said.
Minister Asamo also noted that the government will recruit more sign language interpreters in the public service to increase on the number of the existing ones. She asked stakeholders especially the media to include sign language interpreters in their structures one way of improving access to information to individuals with hearing impairment.
“Access to information remains a critical issue to deaf individuals in uganda. The government has therefore committed to ensuring that television broadcasts are accessible in accordance with the Communication Act, 2013 and the persons with disabilities,” Asamo said.
Uganda will on Friday (September 27) join the rest of the world to commemorate the International Deaf Awareness Day, to celebrate the significant strides made in promoting the rights and well-being of deaf individuals in uganda. The deaf awareness week which commenced on September 18 will end on September 27, under the theme; “Sign Up for Sign Language Rights”. In Uganda, National celebrations will be held at Lomukura Boma grounds, Kotodo district. The minister of state for Karamoja, Hon. Betty Namboozo is expected to be the chief guest.
