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{
"id": 1393541,
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"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Applause)"
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{
"id": 1393542,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393542/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The next opportunity goes to the Member for Kirinyaga, Hon. Njeri Maina."
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{
"id": 1393543,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393543/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kirinyaga County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Njeri Maina",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Motion and congratulate Hon. Dorothy. I have noted that she is very avid in matters to do with special interest groups and mental health issues. While Article 54 of the Constitution of Kenya provides that every person living with disabilities is entitled to access assistive devices to become as independent as they can, it goes without saying that these devices are not always accessible. If and when they are, PWSDs still need human assistance to cater for their needs. Some need round the clock care and some are bedridden. Therefore, it goes without saying that caregivers cater for their needs on a 24/7 basis and do not have the luxury of eking a living. Therefore, it is important that as we progress we appreciate that the Government has been disbursing Cash Transfer for Persons with Severe Disabilities on a monthly basis. The loophole of the need to cater for the caregivers needs to be addressed by this House. This is why this Motion is very timely because we must think about catering for them. Given that they cannot eke a living yet most of these caregivers are family members. You find that sometimes there are child-headed families because the people who need care are the parents. Therefore, it is important to ensure that we support them by discussing how we can ensure there is a budgetary allocation to cater for their needs."
},
{
"id": 1393544,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393544/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kirinyaga County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Njeri Maina",
"speaker": null,
"content": "As I conclude, I want to appreciate Members for commending County Members of Parliament for trying to cater for the needs of PWSDs. As I have said several times, we need to enhance their allocation to enable them execute their mandate, as per the Constitution, of catering for special interest groups. I also wish to note that Ksh2,000 provided to PWSD is insufficient. My concern is that the term ‘severe disability’ might be abused in regard to visually impaired persons who also need 24/7 care and hearing-impaired persons who need someone who has knowledge of sign language to cater for their needs. Let us expand the meaning and definition in the policy provided by the Ministry in order to cater for visually impaired persons and those with hearing impairment. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I support the Motion. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"
},
{
"id": 1393545,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393545/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "The Temporary Speaker",
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"speaker": null,
"content": "(Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai): Thank you, Member for Kirinyaga County. Hon. John Mutunga, Member for Tigania West Constituency."
},
{
"id": 1393546,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393546/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tigania West, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) John K. Mutunga",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for the opportunity to support this Motion. Today, we are discussing a very important category of Kenyans. People who have no option other than offer caregiving services and cannot run away from it. It looks like when we think about anything, we believe the Government should support. Our friends in the Opposition, especially the Member who spoke before the Member for Kirinyaga County, believes that anything the Government does is wrong and it is mistreating people. That is a wrong way of approaching politics. We understand there are three arms of Government; the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. So, he is Government and we are also Government in this House. We only have the Majority Party and Minority Party sides. Caregivers are people who must give assistance and support to others in need because they are incapacitated in one way or another. It is important to note that caregivers have absolutely no option other than live with the people they support yet they live in this country under the same economic and weather conditions like us. They need to live a happy life as well and have needs which must be met in one way or another. Somehow, they have been surviving all along, probably, through the assistance the Government gives to PWSDs. So, they need a safety net because they also have needs. Sometimes, caregivers hide their kin living with disability. The reason being that circumstances are too demanding that they must go and fend for their own survival. Therefore, they do not declare the situation of their kin. We need to alleviate caregivers from such situations and help them to live a normal life and be encouraged to support PWSDs by holding their hands, cleaning, and preparing food for them. Having said that, let us look at the Government which is targeted to assist in everything. When we talk about it raising revenue, we hear a lot of noise especially from the Opposition. The Government is bombarded with every need. Yes, we realise the importance of supporting anything which needs support, but this Government needs to raise revenue. We are saying that it should not borrow money so as to reduce the extent to which it is committing this country to other countries yet we must be in a position to take care of all these needs. Caregivers have to live with PWSDs but sometimes they are unable. Also, some cases are very demanding that caregivers are unable to fend for themselves. Some may be very poor and need to be salvaged from poverty. An additional burden of having a person with a disability in a homestead means further impoverishment. That is, probably, one of the key reasons the sponsor of this Motion brought it here. Hon. Temporary Speaker, we have various types of disabilities like mental disability which may lead to a person being contained. Containment measures require almost 100 per cent surveillance and extra hands from a person who is tied up and cannot fend for themselves. Others have physical disabilities and may need to be moved from one place to another or assistance in various ways. Therefore, the caregivers time is tied up. Others may have visual disabilities requiring them to be guided when going somewhere. Different types of disabilities demand for the attention of the caregivers who have not applied to be in that situation. They just found themselves there naturally. That is why we need to look into this problem. We need to consider caregivers in as much as we are trying to support PWSDs and look at how we can encourage them by supporting their livelihood, therefore, improving their living standards. Financial instability is common in this country. We cannot assume that somebody who spends most of their time caregiving is earning a living. So, it is important for us to look at how we can support them. Somebody may ask: “How do we get to know who the caregivers are?”. Sometimes one may wonder whether it is parents, a brother or a sister. There is need for thorough scrutiny of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"
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{
"id": 1393547,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393547/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tigania West, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) John K. Mutunga",
"speaker": null,
"content": "who in a family set up is the caregiver. This will ensure that when we start supporting them, it will be the right person. There must be some form of registration and linkage. I know PWDs are registered and have an identity card, which gives them special benefits as Kenyans. The caregivers also need to be practically identified and linked to the care they give. Hon. Temporary Speaker, that is when we will probably have them properly taken care of. What kind of safety nets are we talking about? In this particular respect, we are talking about cash transfers. We need to broaden our scope and look at what else we can do and the opportunities we can give to the caregivers. In this country, there is a policy for giving preferential treatment to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). It would also be wise for us to look at the relevant legislation that includes those who are taking care of PWDs depending on the levels and extent of disabilities so that they can also get support from the Government or preferential treatment when it comes to getting job opportunities and so on. This Motion has come at the right time. I support that the Government looks into possibilities of assisting the caregivers so that they can render services willingly, and happily and live like other Kenyans because they are discriminated against under the circumstances. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I support. Thank you."
},
{
"id": 1393548,
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"speaker_name": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai): Thank you. Hon. Phylis Bartoo, Member for Moiben."
},
{
"id": 1393549,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393549/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Moiben, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Phylis Bartoo",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also rise on behalf of the great people of Moiben Constituency to contribute to this very important Motion on providing a safety net for caregivers of persons with severe disabilities. Anybody can be disabled at any time. You can be well today, but tomorrow be a victim due to the nature of society. As I was coming this morning, I saw a motorbike rider being hit by a car and he broke his legs instantly. Disability is not something that is fixed. It can happen to any one of us. Article 28 of the Constitution provides that every person has inherent dignity and the right to have that dignity respected and protected. Article 43(3) of the Constitution provides that the State shall provide appropriate social security to persons who are unable to support themselves and their dependents. The caregivers of PWD play a very important role. From the look of things, there is no clarity on where they fall in our Constitution. The population currently of PWDs is 2.2 per cent which is a huge number of people. I am sure it keeps on increasing. They need to be protected and taken care of. The people who do this job are the caregivers. These caregivers need a source of livelihood. It requires a lot of time and energy to take care of someone who has severe disability. It is draining and affects one psychologically and emotionally. If these caregivers are not provided for, it can be very challenging. A monthly stipend of Ksh2,000 as alluded to in this Motion is not enough to provide for accommodation, transport and food. I think we should look at this amount of money. It is also important that the caregivers are identified and vetted so that we have a distinct number of these caregivers who take care of the PWDs. Most of the PWDs are hidden as the caregivers leave them in houses to go to look for livelihoods. They do not want to be identified as their caregivers. We should not only look at the PWDs but also the elderly. The Government is already providing cash transfers for widows and PWDs, but who takes care of them? We even find that sometimes crooks take advantage, withdraw and take away their money because they know that these people are not capable of withdrawing the money. However, if we have specific known caregivers with identity cards just like those of the PWDs or the elderly, it is going to be very easy to manage the situation. We should also look at accommodation. The Government is in the process of providing affordable housing to Kenyans. This category of people; the caregivers and PWDs should also be catered for so that we have spaces where these people with severe disabilities are housed The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"
},
{
"id": 1393550,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1393550/?format=api",
"text_counter": 349,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Moiben, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Phylis Bartoo",
"speaker": null,
"content": "especially those who do not have family members or a place to call home. Sometimes we have others loitering in the streets for lack of a place to stay or call home. So, the Government can go further with the process of providing houses for other Kenyans and identify a space where we can put the PWDs together and have a combined effort of taking care of them by having some caregivers take care of them during the day and others during the night. It is not easy for people to volunteer to just take care of someone. If the PWDs are put together in a home, for instance, and people are assigned duties such as feeding, taking care of them, looking at their medical needs and all other issues related to them, I think it is going to be in order. If you look at the society at the moment, in every 10 homes, there is always one PWD. The people who are taking care of these people are strained and some even run away. We also have those who have been left to live on their own. Nobody cares about them. There are those whose relatives feel ashamed to be identified with them and are just left on their own. So, how I wish we re-look at these caregivers, identify and vet them, and ensure they are remunerated just like the way we pay salaries to our civil servants such as teachers and Members of Parliament. It will become work with a job description on what they are supposed to do when they wake up every day early in the morning. That way, people living with severe disabilities will be catered for. Family members do not always accept to take care of them. If we mainstream the job and give it a description, it will go a long way in shaping this. As proposed before, these schemes should be re-looked into and merged so that we have one welfare for the elderly and everybody else."
}
]
}