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    "id": 656181,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/656181/?format=api",
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    "content": "done properly. I wish that this amendment would have gone further and come up with very specific penalties for those who breach the amendment that we have put in here. But it is not to say that those penalties have not been defined somewhere else. There are building regulations of the 1990s and the Kenya Bureau of Standards has got the ISO21542 standard that stipulates accessibility requirements for the built environment, but what we lack in this country is implementation. It would also be important to note that the last time the building code in this country was looked at was in the 1990s. Since then, a lot of standards have changed. In fact, the building code that we use in Kenya is dated 1997. There has been reorganization in Government which, in my view, is disorganization. This is because even the people who are now in charge of housing are not very sure under which Ministry they fall. Previously, they fell under a different Ministry and I am told that they are now under infrastructure. Therefore, the Government also needs to style up because when the civil servants are confused and do not know which parent Ministry they are supposed to owe their allegiance to, they will not be very stringent in enforcement of the rules and regulations that they have been entrusted with. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I support this particular amendment but I just call for greater vigilance. We have lost 23 people in that unfortunate incident in Huruma. I hope that all the promises that we are getting, be it from the state, county government or political leaders and all the nice sounding words that people who go there to condole---. I hope we will not dance on the graves of the 23 or more than 20 people because there are still very many souls that are trapped in that trouble and it is not very clear how many lives we have lost. The economic opportunities that we have lost as a country are immense. In as much as we want development and in as much as we want development of housing through the private sector, we must ensure that we come up with strict standards. The standards are already there but the only problem is enforcement. For us to make this amendment a success and a victory for persons with disability, let us not just think of accessing buildings. Let us look at the totality. Let us look at issues like water closets. Let us look at the life of a person with disability once they enter a building. Let us also not focus only on a section of disability where one is physically infirm or where one is on a wheelchair because there are other classes of disability. We need to make sure that public buildings at the very minimum---. I wish this amendment also talked about private buildings where people access public services because if I put up my house and a bank is in there, I should be held to the same standards as a post office or a huduma centre is being held to. Let us look at the totality. Let it not just consider persons on wheelchairs but also persons with visual disability and persons with difficulty in hearing. The Bill has attempted to address the issue of persons with difficulty in hearing by recommending that official language shall be Kenyan Sign Language (KSL). In terms of local content, you will still find television stations that are in blatant breach of regulations that there has to be a transcription of all advertisements and, particularly, news in sign language for persons with difficulty in hearing. When you watch the 7.00 p.m. or 9.00 The electronic version of theSenate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}