HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 46569,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/46569/?format=api",
"text_counter": 312,
"type": "other",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is a standard unbelievable figure of 1US$ per day which is the bare minimum that one should live on, although it has become unrealistic in our circumstances. If we did not have the current skyrocketing of inflation, then one could reasonably argue that if you give an elderly person, at least 1US$ per day, he could live, not comfortably but reasonably. The Kshs2, 000 per month translates to about Kshs65 per day which is below 1US$. The difference should be left to the families of the elderly people to subsidize, so that this responsibility is shared. It should be noted that, currently, the Government has initiated a pilot programme and picked 44 districts, but the criteria it used is not known. These 44 districts are piloting cash transfers of Kshs1, 500 per elderly person per month. Even among the 44 districts, the elderly are not entirely covered. You will find that in one district, only one location is covered. My argument, which I want this House to support, is that even though your district may not be picked, that does not mean that in that district there are no poor elderly people. Therefore, the Government should devise a scheme which it will use to support all the elderly persons in this country who cannot afford to meet their expenses, regardless of where they come from. I am very careful and I have excluded from this bracket any individual who is in receipt of pension or any other support from the Government. Therefore, I am urging this House to approve this Motion. I hope that once this Motion is approved, the Government will move with speed to put in place this scheme, so that the elderly persons can receive reasonable care. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we visit our constituencies, this question comes up often from the elderly persons. Some feel discriminated against. For instance, in my constituency, only one location is covered and only 398 elderly persons are receiving cash transfer. The other locations feel discriminated against and do not understand why there is this discrepancy. Some even think that it was their Member of Parliament who decided that others should receive the cash transfer and others are supposed to be left out. If this Motion is approved and the Government implements the prayer in it fully, then this problem will be eliminated. If we manage to contain the current inflation and give the elderly persons Kshs2, 000 each, I have no doubt that we are going to improve the standards of living for a good section of the citizens of this country. It is my prayer and wish that my colleagues are going to find favour with this Motion and support it in its entirety, so that the Government can implement this programme, which I believe, is a noble one. With those remarks, I beg to move. I want to request my friend and colleague from Lari, hon. Njuguna, to second the Motion."
}