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{
    "id": 1267647,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1267647/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 129,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Kamar",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 33,
        "legal_name": "Margaret Jepkoech Kamar",
        "slug": "margaret-kamar"
    },
    "content": "We know that in our country PwDs have suffered at the family front, in the education sector and not being supported by the Government. The sad part is that they are not taken care of very much at the family level, firstly because of cultural beliefs that were there from time immemorial. Therefore, because of cultural beliefs, these people were left on their own and sometimes, only left at the mercy of their mothers because a mother cannot throw away a child no matter how the child was born. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the other thing is that this is a Kenyan who does not have to be taken care of by a mother. This is somebody who must be taken care of by the country, hence the good provisions articulated in our Constitution. A disabled person has the right to be treated with dignity, respect and to be addressed properly by everybody. However, it had to take the revision of the Constitution for the Bill of Rights to highlight this. I am very grateful that Sen. Crystal Asige found it necessary to start this as her first Bill since she came to this Senate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is very important to note that as was discussed previously, the Constitution recognizes Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in terms of facilitating them to enjoy the rights of the quarter in tenders and supplies in this country. However, we need to ask ourselves, as a Senate, how much of that is being implemented. I believe that once this Bill is out, we need to come out with a system of stock-taking. How many counties are considering PwDs as far as supplies and tenders are concerned? These are things that we need to question as a Senate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the other one that is even more concerning is the issue raised in Article 54(2) of the Constitution that the State must ensure there is a progressive implementation. ‘Progressive’ may have been our downfall. This is because it was a progressive implementation of the principle that, at least, five per cent of members of the public in elective and appointive positions be PwDs. However, many people have used ‘progressive’ to look like where you have employed 100 people, and the right of the PwDs is five per cent, you are progressive if you employ one. It is very sad that people are bold to say that they will consider adding another next year as if it is not their right. The reason the five per cent was put there is because it was our hope that PwDs will not exceed five per cent of the Constitution. It was not because of sympathy, but the fact that we need to provide for that. Since it was provided for, it is extremely important that the employment of five per cent PwDs in every Government department starts with the Government. If the Government does not implement the Constitution, who else will? We cannot talk of the private sector before the Government. When we talk of five per cent, this ‘progressive’ word should be removed, so that we are able to implement and get the people we have. Education has been a very big challenge for PwDs. First, is the issue of access. For example, how to access a classroom in a primary school for a physically disabled pupil. You will find that they are not even enabled to access the classroom itself. Although there was an amendment in the Education Act that all schools must have ramps to allow accessibility, we still have schools that only have access to one or two classrooms and you cannot access everything else. You cannot expect PwDs to remain in two classrooms. They must progress to the other children. Our buildings should not be approved if they do not enable everybody access. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard Services,Senate."
}