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{
    "id": 620795,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/620795/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 129,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 3036,
        "legal_name": "Timothy Wanyonyi Wetangula",
        "slug": "timothy-wanyonyi-wetangula"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me a chance to contribute to this Motion. From the outset, I would like to say that this Motion is about lack of implementation of what already exists in our statutes. We have an Act of Parliament - the Persons with Disabilities Act - which contains provisions on issues of accessibility to buildings, information, public transport and other things. This Act was enacted in 2003. Right now, more than 10 years later, very little has been achieved. We need a proactive way of dealing with issues touching on persons with disabilities. The rights of persons with disabilities are human rights. When we talk about inaccessibility especially to public amenities, we have children denied education because schools are not accessible. Sometimes you want to go to a supermarket to shop but you cannot because the place is not accessible. Government offices are not accessible and the worst place is this Parliament. I remember we were once invited here as members of the disability fraternity by the then Clerk of the last Parliament when they were refurbishing this Parliament. He asked us to make our contribution on how we wished these Chambers to be designed to be suitable to people living with disabilities because he knew very well that in the 11th Parliament there will be Members with disabilities. When I came here as a Member of this House, I found out that nothing was done even after making our contributions. The minutes are there. That shows that sometimes matters touching on disability are not taken seriously. We would like all concerned authorities whether it is Government or private agencies to take matters touching on disability seriously and implement them. If you travel abroad, you will find that accessibility to various places whether it is a building on the road, public transport, ATM machine or a stadium is easy. You can move with minimal assistance. I remember a friend of mine was invited for an interview but when he arrived he found that the interviewers were seated on the second floor and the building had no lift. They sent someone to tell him that the interview was not meant for people like him. He was discriminated against just because he was someone with physical disability. If you look at the Act of Parliament and our Constitution, you will find that Kenya has ratified an international Treaty- the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Treaty talks a lot about issues of accessibility in the environment in which we live in. On what the Mover says about the design of buildings, I remember when I was working at City Hall we grappled a lot on matters of disability; about how the architects or designers of various buildings should incorporate infrastructure on disability. This is because at the design stage, when they incorporate these things, it is much cheaper than when you start making adjustments to a building. Constructing a staircase or a ramp almost costs the same. It is more expensive to demolish and rectify a building. We require that all buildings, by law, should be accessible to all persons with disabilities. I remember some time ago there was a big conference of persons with visual impairment and they could not get a place to hold their meeting until one of the hotels had to do quick adjustments to make it accessible to them. This shows how serious these matters are. When we say nothing about us and without us, we mean we need to be involved in making decisions affecting persons with disabilities. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}