HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1347805,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1347805/?format=api",
"text_counter": 298,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kisumu East, Independent",
"speaker_title": "Hon Shakeel Shabbir",
"speaker": {
"id": 140,
"legal_name": "Ahmed Shakeel Shabbir Ahmed",
"slug": "shakeel-shabbir"
},
"content": "I also disagree with the title and suggest this as an amendment to the Geriatric Bill. As much as my fellow Member of Parliament came up with that title, it takes away the dignity of the elderly. I do not know why that title. “Geriatric Care” is a medical term; we need to give it a more human touch. The idea of establishing the National Council for the Elderly is good, but a directorate of social development already exists. I do not see why we need a national council for the same. Setting it up will be very costly. For instance, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will want a four-wheel drive vehicle. There will be other requirements for setting it up, and they will take up a lot of money. We can allow the already existing directorate to perform those functions. We also need to formulate some set of rules and format of what elderly care requires. Whether there is home care for the elderly in a residential home or a day-care centre for the community, ignoring our children and failing to send them to school is an offence. I suggest that we treat this the same way. Failing to take care of our parents should also be considered an offence. The stipend of Ksh2,000 is a joke. In my constituency, with over 200,000 people, only about 50, or less than 120, get the stipend. When they get it, sometimes it takes six months before it is disbursed. It also, sometimes, gets stolen by conmen and other family members. The abuse of the elderly has been there. We have not taken any action against the people in a home where they were seen beating up an elderly person the other day. We must develop a framework for effective action. About ten years ago, I was taught by the Rwandan President that, while it is good to have a vision, without its implementation, it is hallucination. We hope this Geriatric Bill, or what we hope to change the name to, will be put into force immediately after it is passed. Some structure, format, or template should be formulated so that we will have the directorate, the National Council or whatever we call it, to help the aged. Those aged are quality people. I know some people who are professors. For one, Prof. Bethwell Ogot is nearly 95 years old but has better brains than mine. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am 70 years old. Soon, I will be called an elderly. Where will I go? Is there an elderly home for old parliamentarians? I know there is none. What do we do with our old parliamentarians? I have seen some of them who were leaders sitting at home, rotting and doing nothing. The pension that they get is peanuts. The elderly and the children must be cared for as a priority. In Europe, people care for their cats and dogs more than their families. We go there, at a cost, to take care of the elderly. We clean them up. The elderly are not senile. They do not have dementia. Even if they were senile, had dementia, or looked like they were mad, they have a right to be in this country, perhaps more than the younger generations, because they fought for the Independence of this country. I hardly see an elderly person being given any recognition. The late Dedan Kimathi’s wife, for one, who passed away, was never treated well. There are too many others who were not treated well. The elderly must be given recognition by the State, the county governments and other authorities. When I was in Germany, I tried to buy a train ticket, but I was told that being an elderly person over 65, I did not need one. I also went to an orchestra and wanted to pay, but I was told my fee was half-price. In this country, you are charged even more. If you are elderly and in a matatu, they charge you even more. I support this Bill and urge my fellow Members of Parliament to look at it, strengthen it, and give it the bite it requires. Let us look after the elderly the way they looked after us in our youth. Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for your indulgence, the House as a whole and the sponsor of the Bill."
}