Matsapha – Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla, together with Cabinet Ministers Mduduzi Matsebula and Mandla Chawuke, today launched the first ever Trolley Dash for Persons with Disabilities at Mashayitafula Pick’n’Pay.
Fifteen persons with disabilities, who won the competition held between June and July, each left with groceries and appliances worth E2,000. Their trolleys were filled with essentials including rice, mealie meal, sugar, vegetable oil, tea, coffee, meat and other household items.
Excitement filled the store as the winners picked items of their choice. Many said they were thankful to the DPM for including them in an activity they had only watched others enjoy before. 
One of the winners, Sibongile Khumalo from Siphocosini, thanked His Majesty King Mswati III for appointing a DPM who cares deeply for persons with disabilities. She said since Dladla took office, they had seen positive changes in their lives.
The DPM thanked Pick’n’Pay Stores for opening their doors to host the competition and for donating funds to make it possible. She also thanked the Cabinet Ministers for their contributions.
“We would like to encourage the business community to be deliberate in hiring persons with disabilities in their establishments. This will help meet the needs of customers with all sorts of disabilities. The challenges they face in shopping stores are the very same problems they encounter in hospitals and other institutions,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
She also called on businesses to support produce from small scale producers to help strengthen local enterprises. The Minister of Health was urged to improve health facilities so they can accommodate all forms of disabilities and provide proper assistance.
The event also exposed some of the daily challenges persons with disabilities face when shopping, including poor communication because of a lack of sign language interpreters, difficulty reaching upper shelves from wheelchairs, limited help for blind or visually impaired customers which can lead to wrong or expensive purchases, and narrow aisles that make wheelchair movement difficult.
