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{
    "id": 1418156,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1418156/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 214,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nyeri Town, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Duncan Mathenge",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Hon. Temporary Speaker, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I am a member of the Select Committee on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity. One of the realisations that this Committee came to is that it is not sufficient for the Constitution to provide for rights of Kenyans for them to enjoy them. Going by the inquiry and contact we have with Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs) and ministries, including the Public Service Commission (PSC), it is a sad state of affairs, in terms of how we treat PWDs, when it comes to employment opportunities. If this Report had been more inclusive in terms of access to 30 per cent reservation of Government procurement opportunities to women, youths and PWDs, then we would see how unfair and unjust we, as a nation, are. In a Report by PSC which was published in 2014 across the entire nation, employment of PWDs was less than 1 per cent. At this point in time, 10 years down the line and 14 years of implementing the Constitution 2010, we have only 1.1 per cent increase. If we extrapolate this Report, at this rate, it will take us close to 50 years for PWDs to realise their allocation of 5 per cent. This is untenable. In an attempt to address the issue of PWDs, most of the SAGAs only go as far as having a disability mainstreaming committee within the institution. However, they have little tangible actions to show. Violation of our Constitution must have consequences. I urge this House to go a step further and recommend that the violation of the rights of PWDs by public and state officers should be classified as a gross violation of the Constitution, with the potential of dismissing Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) on account of denying them employment opportunities. When we look at training opportunities for skills for PWDs, it is a national shame. We visited one institution that I believe is the only dedicated one for offering secondary education to PWDs. They have a gym that has nothing other than the walls. They rely on companies that have Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) because we have not dedicated funding for those programmes. The teachers who are trained in special needs education are frustrated, in terms of promotions, when Teachers Service Commission (TSC) promotes teachers. As a nation, we must take reasonable actions towards disability mainstreaming and undertake deliberate affirmative action in assisting our brothers and sisters who are in that state. Finally, the medical care for PWDs sometimes requires supplements that are very costly. It is necessary for this House to consider exempting them from tax. I thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I support the Motion."
}