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{
    "id": 983586,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/983586/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 173,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Bondo, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Ochanda",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1264,
        "legal_name": "Gideon Ochanda Ogolla",
        "slug": "gideon-ochanda-ogolla"
    },
    "content": " Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, being an elder or an older person in the society is not by default. It is a process. The older people have had contributions to the society in one way or the other, either they have been in the Civil Service, have worked in different places or at home and have contributed to the nation. Part of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that we constantly talk about are efforts of individual persons in the society. The Constitution really places older persons in a corner where they are supposed to be looked at properly. There are things in the Bill that need to be looked at afresh, remodified and come up with a better way of doing things in the proposals. First, the Bill is proposing that county governments should establish homes. The idea is fine, but if you look at this, it is against some of the policies the Government is promoting at the moment in terms of the idea of integration and social support systems. First of all, assuming that these things will be done, I believe, is a tall order. If county governments have not established Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDs) for the last 10 years, I wonder when they will have this as a priority to do care homes for the elderly. So, it is really a tall order, on one hand, but the whole idea is how we can support the elderly in our society. The social assistance programme that is being run excludes some elderly persons, but those who in the scheme are supported wherever they are, for instance, in their homes. In one way or the other, they get constant assistance other than taking them to a particular home. This is not the right way. What the Government is doing at the moment even in cases of disability, is having the disabled persons in their schools or institutions. This is getting discouraged, but the whole idea is to integrate them, so that they are appreciated by the rest of the community and can contribute to the nation like any other person instead of being excluded. Exclusion breeds the element of discrimination. The proposal in the Bill needs to be looked at, so that we do not just build homes where the elderly people can be taken because they are already in homes. They are in families. They need support. Sometimes the support will add onto what they are already experiencing. There are those who in one way or the other are excluded from the current social assistance programmes. The Kshs2,000 is not enough. If one were to look at this seriously, if you were to give somebody Kshs2,000 at the end of the month for purposes of food alone, it is not enough. If you 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."
}