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    "id": 497387,
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    "content": "sure that the rights of the disabled to access any facility is guaranteed. This is an eight part Act which specifies, for example, it provides for a Council. We have to check that Council. Is it actually representing the people with disability? Is the membership of that Council sensitive to that or is it just people drawn from departments who are put there but who do not actually take care of the rights of persons with disability? It also talks of the rights and privileges, but these rights and privileges need to be enforceable. So, we have to look at the Act to see whether actually those rights, as they are, are enforceable. They are talking of 5 per cent of the jobs – as the Constitution itself under Article 54(2) clearly states that:- “The State shall ensure the progressive implementation of the principle that at least five percent of the members of the public in elective and appointive bodies are persons with disabilities.” How do we enforce that and all these other articles of the Constitution? So, I think the Act should actually go into details on how to enforce those rights and privileges. These rights are given and they are in the Constitution. The Act also talks about these rights, but why is it that persons with disabilities in this country are still exposed to hardships? On that one, we have to look at the whole Act and I invite Sen. Njoroge to our Committee meetings, because it is part of our agenda. One of the Acts we are working on is the review of the Persons with Disability Act, which is good. But we also need to go further and check all the Acts because right now, we are talking about the counties. As far as I know in my county, there is no institution for persons living with disabilities. My county is very vast and there are no such institutions. The nearest one for people with hearing disabilities is in Isiolo; if it is an institution catering for the blind, you have to come all the way to Thika. So, we are not sensitive to the plight of persons living with disabilities in this country. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we need to have specialized institutions that cater for persons living with disabilities. I remember of a Motion which was passed in this House to that effect, but that Motion also needs to be implemented. This can be done by incorporating it into the amendment of this Act so that we have that in an enforceable condition. This will enable the counties to come up with schools catering for persons with special needs. That is not a case of discrimination; that is a case of facilitation. Somebody might think you are setting them aside. But you need to create an environment so that they can develop their talents and so that they can reach a level where they can participate in nation building. Maybe at higher levels, they have to integrate with others, but at some level, you need to give them proper attention; and that is what we are lacking. That is why you will find it being often reported that parents hide children with disabilities. More often than not, those parents are themselves struggling to make ends meet in life and they are poor. For example, in pastoralist communities, it is very difficult for a family which is moving with their livestock from one area to another maybe every six months or so seeking pasture and water to be carrying along a person with disability. If that kind of an institution is there, then that person will be better off there so that he or she can have the necessary facilities. If it is a blind person or if it is somebody with hearing problems, then they can easily learn in a specialized way. For example, if it is a blind child, he cannot go to the same school with children who have no sight problems. So, we need to mainstream The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}