17 September 2003

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel this week launched an innovative joint project between the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the South African National Council for the Blind (SANCB) that will prepare blind people for the job market.

SARS will contribute R1-million to the training of 10 blind students as call centre agents. On completing the course, the students will be employed by SARS.

"We want to be a progressive revenue service that does more than just raise revenue for the fiscus and protect the country's economy," said SARS Commissioner Pravin Gordhan.

A research study recently undertaken by the SANCB revealed that disabled people are the least employed group in the country, with a rate of 0.28% in the corporate world.

At least 2.2 million people in the country live with physical disability, and those who are blind account for the largest segment.

Manuel said this was a challenge for government and private sector to create opportunities and a supportive environment for people with disabilities.

SARS currently has an 88-seat call centre in KwaZulu-Natal and 93-seat call centre in Cape Town. The seats are expected to be increased to 290 in both centres, with another centre housing 140 call attendants and operators due to be established in Johannesburg.

The Johanenesburg centre will be an outbound call centre used for proactive interaction with the taxpayer.

As part of the agreement, SARS will provide technical assistance to the SANCB, while the SANCB will advise SARS in sourcing blind professionals for possible employment in other areas of business in SARS. SARS says it will create 720 jobs for young, enthusiastic blind people who want to make a contribution to effective governance.

SARS will launch a nationwide awareness campaign to educate its employees on working with disabled persons and people with special needs.

SouthAfrica.info reporter

	SANCB