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{
    "id": 1347743,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1347743/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 236,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Teso South, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Mary Emaase",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. First, I want to appreciate Hon. Wamuchomba. I applaud her for bringing this very good Bill to the House, which seeks to establish a National Council for Elderly Persons. Even in the absence of Article 57, the Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of age or otherwise. The State has an obligation to not only protect the elderly but to also promote and encourage initiatives, including financing programmes that address the welfare of the elderly. Establishing a council is the right thing to do. As Hon. Wamuchomba rightly put it, the youth and persons with disabilities have councils. When there is a corporate body dedicated to addressing the issues of a special group, the members of that group are bound to get maximum attention, and we see results. Therefore, I believe that the proposed council will ensure that elderly people in this country are appropriately represented in all spheres of life, especially in areas that affect them. The proposed council will adequately represent the elderly when decisions are made by boards and the government agencies in areas that affect them such as health, physical planning and social welfare issues, among others. I appeal to the owner of the Bill to make it more comprehensive, workable and acceptable. Most of the elderly in our communities have been abandoned. Their children have migrated to cities to look for opportunities and there is nobody to take care of them. The Bill should probably also accommodate the aspect of the proposed council developing a structure with incentives for families to provide necessary support for the elderly. Elderly people aged 60 years old and above are still very strong, energetic and with vast knowledge and experience because they were employed and had businesses. The Bill should provide for how the Government can leverage their knowledge and experience. That will enable them to remain active, and to participate in activities that will promote their social well- being instead of just abandoning them and forgetting them as soon as they get out of active employment yet they can still be very useful to society. I believe that the proposed council will develop proper structures for social welfare funds and stipends to be disbursed to the elderly. We have had challenges where some elderly persons have had arrears of up to four months. For others, the Ksh8,000 is taken away from them even before they get to their homesteads. There have been challenges with agents who have been given the responsibility of disbursing these funds on behalf of the Government. I have dealt with those challenges in my Teso South Constituency, where I had to take it upon myself to go to the banks and threaten to report the agents to the police. They gave excuses like fingerprints were not working and promised that they would pay them. They eventually paid the money. The proposed council will put in place proper audit structures that will promote accountability in the disbursement of the funds. 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."
}