Petition submitted to President’s Office urging higher disability allowance

 A petition has been submitted to the President’s Office urging an increase in the monthly allowance paid by the state to people with disabilities. 

The petition was submitted to the President’s Office on Wednesday afternoon. 

People with disabilities are currently entitled to a monthly allowance of MVR 2,000.  

The petition urges the government to increase the allowance to at least MVR 5,000. 

One of the young men involved in preparing the petition told Sun that the petition went online from November 22-17, and gathered 7,386 signatures within five days. 

“With support from all these parties, we submitted the petition to the President’s Office this afternoon,” he said. 

Hesaid that the current disability allowance is far too low to cover even basic needs. 

He said that the petition comes after years of approaching governments and parliamentarians for an increase in the disability allowance, without avail. 

He said that the petition isn't affiliated with any organization, and comes from people with disabilities themselves. 

He also said that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had provided assurance he would increase the disability allowance, and it was their hope he delivered his promise as soon as possible. 

A bill to amend the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Provision of Financial Assistance Act in order to increase the disability allowance to an amount within the range of MVR 5,000-7,000 was submitted to the Parliament in 2019. But the bill failed to garner support, and was rejected. 

An increase in the disability allowance was also urged by the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM), which, in a statement last year, said that the current allowance was not sufficient in covering basic needs.