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{
    "id": 51535,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/51535/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 326,
    "type": "other",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "conscious that many families have had bodies of their loved ones not released for burial in various public and private morgues for lack of money to clear various fees and charges; mindful that every Kenyan family would wish to accord their departed a decent burial at a place of their choice; this House urges the government to waive mortuary fees in all public hospitals for bodies claimed within 21 days and those not claimed become a subject of disposal by the hospital authorities in accordance with the law. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am moving this Motion with a heavy heart. As we all know, the cost of living for Kenyans, especially the ordinary wananchi, has been on the rise. It has continued to rise over the years making it hard for them even to seek medical attention when they are sick. In fact, life for them has become a nightmare. In contrast, physical facilities development in the health sector has slowed down in most parts of this country. It is sad that most parts of the country have no readily accessible specialized medical attention. This is more pronounced when it comes to the development of morgues, or what people commonly refer to as mortuaries. This has been given a raw deal by both private and public developers. Even in public hospitals where we have such facilities, services have either been run down or they do not exist at all. Kenya’s population has recorded phenomenal growth since Independence. When the Minister of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 released the 2009 Census Results, he alluded to the fact that our population is increasing at a rate of 1 million persons per year. In contrast, mortuary services have remained nearly constant since Independence. When I look at the hospital facilities in the region where I come from, morgues are very few. People are not attempting to construct morgues for our departed bodies. There has been a high demand for this service because of the population growth in the recent past. Because there is no relationship between the development of infrastructure and the rise in demand of these services, especially because of the population increase, we have overstretched our morgue facilities and we are not able to provide for the needy in the society. This rising cost of morgue services has further compounded the problem by way of increasing the number of unclaimed bodies in our mortuaries. Failure or inability of the bereaved families to pay hospital bills that may have accrued when a departed one was undergoing medical attention has led to an increased number of unclaimed bodies in our morgues. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, as the Government and as a caring population, I wish to state here the best we can do to bereaved members of a family is to make sure their departed relatives get a decent burial. This is the only way we can ameliorate their suffering and pains. We, as leaders, must come up with policies which ensure that, even if the family of deceased is not able to pay medical bills, the body is released to them for burial. Family members and well-wishers should be given enough time to raise medical bills through harambees. Why should we allow them to suffer for a week, two weeks or even a month before a body is released to them for burial because they cannot pay medical bills immediately? Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want to submit here that high medical and funeral expenses have continued to impoverish our population today. In the past, we have tried to come up with the medical health scheme for the citizens, but with little success."
}