Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 971188,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/971188/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 278,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Molo, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kuria Kimani",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13435,
        "legal_name": "Francis Kuria Kimani",
        "slug": "francis-kuria-kimani"
    },
    "content": "live in dignity in addition to ensuring that they receive all the resources and support they need from the State to ensure that as they age, they live comfortable lives. This Bill defines older people as people who are 60 years and above. I like the contribution of my colleague. Some of us think that 60 years when we have just lived half of that time, is a long time to come. We should know that we are also legislating for ourselves because one day we will attain that age. It is very informative. These people that are over 60 years of age have served this country. If they probably started working at 20 years, they have served this country for 40 years. These are the people that have been paying taxes, that have brought us up and that have added value to this country. Most of the time, I feel, in the spirit of encouraging younger people and making sure that younger people are in positions of influence that create jobs, this resource of experience that these people have ends up going to waste. Most of the time they are not consulted or involved well enough in the running of the country. Most of the time, you even find them languishing in poverty. However, this Bill comes to treat this. When the Jubilee Government took office, they promised that they will be giving a stipend to older people. I am not sure that that has been anchored in law. Therefore, putting this on pen and paper as an Act of Parliament and saying it is the right and responsibility of both national Government and the country governments to take care of these people cannot have come at a better time. The county governments are obligated by this Bill to create home care centres. Most of the time if you walk around you will see many children homes. However when it comes to “ nyumba za wazee ” or a place where these old people can go and get care, they are actually very limited. We are proposing in this Bill that every county government must not just be told to do it but be obligated. It is a must that every county government should have a home for older people. In fact, it is even better to have it per sub-county. This is because you find these older people are left by themselves. They do not have anyone to take care of them. They lack the basics like dentures for their teeth or glasses for their eyes or even the very basic. The rights of these older people in this Bill have been safeguarded by making sure that if an older person goes to hospital and there are signs of physical or sexual abuse or whichever other abuse, then those medical personnel are obligated to report to the authorities. If they do not report to authorities, there is a five year imprisonment or Ksh1 million fine. This is because you find even these bad cultures and cults have most of the time targeted these old people because they live by themselves in the villages and they have nobody to take care of them. Sometimes even when they go to seek medical assistance, those cases go unreported. Therefore, the people who commit the crimes on these people end up being free and end up doing that to the next person. The Bill seeks to make it an obligation for medical people that serve these old people to report to the authorities any signs of abuse. I think it is something that really needs to be supported. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Bill clearly outlines the duties of the home managers in the homes. It is clear on what they are supposed and not supposed to do. These homes have, in the past, been places where people are abused. You have heard cases where children in children’s home are assaulted and trafficked. So, this Bill guarantees security in those homes. In addition, the kind of personnel that should be in these homes is not something to be applauded. The community centres for the elderly must have medical personnel, a counsellor and a security person, so that we do not open up homes in which the elderly will live a terrible life than they would probably live if they were not in those homes. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}