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{
    "id": 1423233,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1423233/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 111,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Crystal Asige",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise in support of the Statement by the Senator for Kakamega on boda boda sector. There is no doubt that the boda boda sector in this country has and continues to contribute tremendously to our economic growth. Boda boda has been the one major factor in the Small Market Enterprise (SME) ecosystem itself, of SMEs being able to do business easily and provide transport of their goods and services across the country. Also, the boda boda industry has created employment for young people, and for those who perhaps had other plans with their careers, have found themselves needing to get creative on other ways of getting income. It is very important, as has been said in the Statement, that these boda boda operators are protected, especially because we have also seen a surge in women bodaboda operators in the last several years. They are taking up the business of boda boda; buying them and operating them day and night as well, to better their lives. That is why they must be protected by our security services. On the flipside, this matter of boda boda industry is a double-edged sword, because they are also being used to conduct criminal activity and used in very duplicitous ways, unfortunately. As we continue to look for protection for boda boda operators through the Senator's Statement for both men and women, we also need to look at how they are being disciplined at the same time, so that the users of boda boda can also feel safe when engaging with these operators. We also know that boda bodas conduct these criminal activities specifically around attacking or doing petty crimes against women, young girls and People with Disabilities (PwDs) in the country because they are the most vulnerable. This needs to take a double-edged sort of approach for both sides of the coin to be protected. I also want to stand in support of the Statement by the Senator for Machakos County. Wash facilities are already in this country and many of them are substandard. Sometimes it is not available at all in many of our schools, especially in the rural areas. Right now, I have heard many reports since the flooding started, throughout the flooding and even today, where special needs schools and schools with children with disabilities have no wash facilities because of this particular flooding that we have seen in the country. Of course, we have also seen in special needs schools, kids and learners with disabilities who are in different learning institutions across the country suffering because the floods have taken all of their assistive devices. The floods have washed away things like laptops and assistive devices like braille machines and papers. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the braille paper costs about Kshs2,000 to Kshs4,000, while a schoolbook can cost Kshs20 to Kshs100. Those paper brailles have been destroyed by the floods. Additionally, braille costs around Kshs200,000 for a child with visual impairment to be able to write in school, when a pen or a pencil costs Kshs5 to Kshs10. The cost that kids and learners with disabilities are having to pay because of the floods is exponentially higher than the non-disabled learning institutions. However, all of them are very important to be looked into. 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 and AudioServices, Senate."
}