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{
    "id": 359762,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/359762/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 226,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. F.K. Wanyonyi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2065,
        "legal_name": "Ferdinard Kevin Wanyonyi",
        "slug": "ferdinard-kevin-wanyonyi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to thank the hon. Member for bringing up this Motion; it is very dear to me. When you look at our senior citizens, I want to say that it is a very sad situation. Most of the old men and women are suffering. I just want to say that as you all know, the lifestyles of our children are changing because of economic hardships. Our old people are suffering because they are abandoned. I come from an area where every morning you see an old person coming to you asking for Kshs200 to be able to fetch for herself or himself something for the day. Hon. Members present have gone through what I am going through. You give an old man Kshs200 and you can see how prayerful, or thankful, the old man is, because it is like manna from Heaven. We should do something about this. It is only proper that we take care of our senior citizens. I know, as one hon. Member has just mentioned, every day we are getting old. You will be 60 years two or ten years to come; if you do not have any mechanism in place I can tell you, you will suffer the same fate. Because of that I want to suggest that we actually ask the Government to take a fresh census to know just how many old men and women in sub- locations, locations and constituencies are suffering. One hon. Member has just mentioned that in her constituency there are those who benefit. It is true, in fact those benefiting are those with sons and daughters who are known. But those who are not known are suffering a lot. We demand that the Government takes a census of the old men and women, who are over 65 years old, so that it can take care of them. Let us have a proper mechanism if that programme is there to benefit our people. I know old men and women over 65 years are getting something like Kshs2,500. I understand in some areas people are benefiting. In Trans Nzoia, in my constituency, there is nothing. One hon. Member has said only seven people in a location benefit. You cannot have seven people aged over 65 years in one location! They are more than that. So, I suggest the Government takes proper census in the locations, sub-locations and constituencies, so that we can know how many people are over 65 years. In Kwanza, our old people are not benefitting. I also want to say that there should be some special card. Let us issue these old people with special cards, so that they can access medical services. That will assist our people in addition to getting money."
}