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{
    "id": 1111237,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1111237/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 324,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) James Nyikal",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 434,
        "legal_name": "James Nyikal",
        "slug": "james-nyikal"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I would like to contribute to this debate because I qualify as one of the older persons. If you are above 60, you are, in fact, in that age set. Secondly, I have had experience with the African Charter, but I know we also have the UN Charter. To some extent, we are party to those charters and we have not really gone into the African Charter. I think it is long overdue. It is sad to hear from Hon. Millie that very few African countries have signed this Charter. It is sad. It is our obligation because if you talk of these two categories of persons, to some extent, they face the same problems. It is a matter of access to health, employment and participation in community activities. Sometimes it is just a matter of physical access. If you talk of persons with disabilities, you just have a problem of physical access. So, these are issues we have to really look at. Signing this is long overdue. Constitutionally, when we sign it, it becomes part of our laws. That is obviously something we should look into. We have a law in terms of PWDs. We have tried to implement it. On elderly persons, I do not remember whether we have a specific law dealing with them. Maybe, we have a gap there. We must, however, look at our structure of Government. Where are these people placed? It may be in the Constitution, but do we have it in the structure of Government? In Kenya, we do. We have it in the Ministry that deals with the PWDs and elderly persons. Our former Minister is here and we work together on this one. They all face issues of dignity, stigma and hostility, and sometimes care. There is another element that comes with it. It reaches a point that there is another person who gets involved in severe disability or have elderly persons and they need people to take care of them. In Kenya, we are trying, but we still have a problem. There are places where elderly persons are viewed with hostility, suspicion and they can even be harmed. The job situation in the country tends to discriminate against them. There is an obvious feeling that at a certain age, people should not be involved in active employment. That is something we have to look at. It is not proper employment in Government or Government structures, but you must have a provision where 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."
}