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    "id": 528974,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/528974/?format=api",
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    "content": "be enhanced to make their life easy. Some of these things are not very difficult. It is really a question of coming up with policy and putting it into place and just being very focused on it. I think this initiative to beam the light to a specific area to ensure that this happens is very critical; for example, issues that are dealt with in Article 54; reasonable access to all places, public transport and information. Really as a person and a human being, you cannot be productive socially or economically if you cannot move. I know there are different types of disabilities, but I think in this particular session, we are dealing with physical disability. It is very sad. If you have the right equipment, you should be able to move from one place to another. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I remember in one of the Committees when we were dealing with one of the cases that came up about an airline that had not made provision for a particular prominent Member to be able to move. The way he talked about it and the way that he felt, it was very clear that such provisions should be made and should be respected and nobody should ask or beg for it. We know, for example, in the developed countries, they have made a lot of progress. In Kenya, you will still go to a building and find that there is no ramp. That is the case even within the buildings of Parliament. Last week we had a meeting on the First Floor and one of our Members could not make it there. We had to move the meeting to this Chamber to enable her join the meeting. Somebody somewhere should be responsible. In Sen. Njoroge’s submission, the NCPD should be able to push for this agenda together with parliamentarians. Accessing materials and devices overcome all these constraints and it should be made possible for people with disabilities to be able to do that. With such provisions being put into place, it will make life very easy. I think this provision should not just start in adulthood; it has to start in consideration with all the institutions. How is disability handled, for example, within the family? We know that some of the children with disabilities have been hidden and not taken to school. How should it be handled within the institutions of education? What about the integration of people with disabilities into schools so that their issues can actually be dealt with? What about in religious and economic institutions? The whole issue of employment is actually what is addressed in this particular Bill. As per the constitutional provision, 35 per cent be given in the Constitution. Article 54(2) provides it as progressive implementation. I think in the Bill, Sen. Njoroge is talking about it as being implemented immediately. I do not see any contradiction if it is possible and that certain oversight bodies like the NCPD are careful that before appointments are made, at the shortlist, a provision and some sort of stratification should already have been put in place so that we know from this particular sector we are going to have this number of people who will put into those positions immediately. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we should make sure that right from the beginning, we are preparing to have these positions taken. It would be foolhardy to want the 5 per cent to have that uptake, but not to prepare in terms of capacity building; making sure that the right education has been given, the right schools have actually been able to help members who have a certain level of disability be able to contribute to the society. We have to be very careful that when we talk about such provision, it is not just visible disability; even those who have mental disabilities; schizophrenia, for example, or disabilities are not very clear. 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"
}