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{
    "id": 1417921,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1417921/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 348,
    "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"
}