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{
    "id": 656234,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/656234/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 231,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is important to note that disability is not a state for a certain sort of people. You may have no disability. However, one minute is enough to change everything. You could walk out of this building and get an accident and become disabled. You will want some basic rights stated in our Constitution to be accorded to you, just as they should be accorded to another Kenyan. This is something we sometimes take for granted until you are personally affected or one of your family members is affected. It is an issue that we should focus on. I like what Sen. Hassan asked; who will keep us accountable as a people? Who will be accountable when we say we need to have areas where people can access? I do not think that needs a law because it is common sense. If we want everybody to access services and institutions that we have, how will they access if they are living with disability? I would like to commend those who have gone out of their way. We have seen some media houses having an interpreter during news time. That is commendable. Those who have not embraced it should go out of their way to do it because we know that information is power and it should be accessible to all members of the public. I just want to add one or two issues. It is very important that this Bill touches on counties. We know that most of the functions are also devolved. They are in the Department of Gender and Social Development in most of our counties. There are counties where people living with disability cry because the services do not reach them. There are those who would like to access education, Braille and wheelchairs. It is not just a matter of throwing the wheelchairs to them. Who is actually looking at whether the wheelchairs serve the purpose they are intended for? We know that some of our counties are very quick to ensure that there is expenditure. So, they think of buying physical things without even going further to see that they will be used in the proper manner in the areas depending on the infrastructure in place. I implore the county officials and county departments that are supposed to take care of people living with disability to take it as a serious matter that is enshrined in our Constitution. We pray that if for nothing else, then this law will bind them to serve the people living with disability. They should do it consciously and follow the law and our Constitution as we have said. What is happening in most of our counties is very unfortunate. We experience problems when it rains and when there is drought. It is very unfortunate that floods are causing deaths and displacements and making people live very hopeless lives. The same issues continue to be experienced but no one is being held accountable. Everybody is always blaming the other. County officials are now saying that they had ordered for demolition of such houses. Others are saying that they had not been told to do so. Who is going to do something because it is unfortunate? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I was able to visit the victims of the Huruma disaster. I can assure you that if it rains another two or three days, there will be more casualties there. It is just because sometimes we do not make painful decisions to do what is right in order to save lives. Finally, as we discuss the implementation of this law and even following our Constitution as a country, there are very many other things that we have to agree on, as 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."
}