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{
"id": 1511541,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1511541/?format=api",
"text_counter": 617,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Thika Town, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Alice Nga’ng’a",
"speaker": null,
"content": "employment opportunity, purchase goods and services, and participate in state and local Government programmes. The role of the federal agencies is to enforce the ADA and other roles that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. These agencies are mandated to receive complaints, conduct investigation and issue regulations and guidelines to explain the law. To date, buildings and other areas in USA have to incorporate disability compliance facilities with science. Unlike other parts of the world, disability inclusion is not simply putting a ramp at the entrance of a building, there are issues of constitutionality. The disability law in Kenya has faced challenges and gaps such as the lack of express provision of the obligation of the county governments which the proposed Bill seeks to address. This emanates from the fact that the current Act was enacted 10 years before the existence of county governments. As an extension of this House, the Departmental Committee on Social Protection has played a significant part in championing for the rights and welfare of PWDs in this Republic and has, in the recent past, made substantial achievements. This includes the National Council of Persons with Disabilities which had endured long delays of Exchequer funding due to the budget being classified as development. This classification as development expenditure made it prone to budget cuts since it was viewed as a capital item. This also meant the delay in provision of services intended for PWDs, such as assistive devices, education, advocacy and registration. The Committee successfully lobbied for the conversion of the council budget from development to recurrent. As a result, resources from the National Treasury are no longer delayed, and are ring-fenced from budget cuts, and in addition to be identified as, Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) priorities. The Committee has also overseen the registration and facilitation of over 61,000 households of PWDs undertakings. By March next year, the households will move from 61,000 to 100,000 households. If this Bill is enacted into law, it will reinforce the work of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities and support its efforts to improve the welfare of persons with disabilities. This includes increasing the current Ksh2,000 monthly stipend to an amount that reflects present economic realities, as well as redesigning the programmes from household- based and individual-based to accommodate households that have more than one person with severe disabilities. For example, currently, providing Ksh2,000 to a family of four children who have severe disabilities is not in order. The Bill will also enhance the Council's involvement in drafting the National Disability Policy, the reinstatement of disability mainstreaming as a performance indicator in public service, and seek to enhance funding and secure the entrenchment of disability inclusion in the counties. As the House considers this Bill, it is important to note that Kenya is a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, having ratified it on 19th May 2008. As such, the passage of this Bill will significantly contribute to fulfilling the convention's objectives and aspirations. In addition, it is important to remember that not all disabilities are the same, and hence the resultant regulations emanating from this law would help streamline specific matters to do with the rights and welfare of persons with disabilities, including severe disabilities. Further, Kenya has made great progress in its effort to promote disability inclusion. As a result, many nations far and wide benchmark with Kenya in so far as programmes and policies are established to support persons with disabilities are concerned. The Bill before us today comes at a time when the nation joins the world in celebrating the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, which is observed on 3rd of December every year, and which happened earlier today. That is why I am very proud to be standing here today. Under the current government led by His Excellency the President, Dr William Samuel Ruto, the key focus is on the socio- economic empowerment of persons with disabilities. People with disabilities undergo"
}