Persons with disabilities in Kirinyaga County have been advised to register with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) to enable both the National and county governments plan for their needs.
The NCPD regional Coordinatior in Kirinyaga, Mary Mwangi said failure to register locks persons with disabilities out of government programmes intended to benefit them.
She said the council has made important strides in ensuring persons with disabilities are well supported noting that there are still more persons being hidden in the community and need to be registered so that they can also benefit and feel part of the community.
Speaking at Kerugoya on Sunday, the coordinator said community needs to understand that persons with disabilities are part of the society who need to be integrated in the country’s development programmes.
Mrs. Mwangi said that the council is expecting the number of persons with various disabilities in the region to go up, since they are embarking on a thorough capacity building and sensitisation campaign to ensure the community understands and supports the disabled as part of them.
She said the county governments should ensure they implement the 5 percent rule that require persons with disabilities be considered for available positions in the county.
“The County government has not yet given the right hearing to persons with disabilities who should even be included in bursary committees in order to effectively represent the issues that touch on them,” she said
Sebastian Kimani who have been advocating for the rights of persons living with disability said services have improved since the inception of the devolution.
He said they were grateful to the government and president Uhuru Kenyatta for initiating the cash transfer programme in which 70 persons with disabilities in Kirinyaga receive Sh. 2000 monthly with 500 in the waiting list.
Kimani however, said much is yet to be done when it comes to their involvement in decision making positions in the two levels of government.
“We are saying that there will be nothing for us without us, Kirinyaga county government must ensure the constitution is followed and incorporate us in decision making, employment and development of our county,” he said.
Kimani has also asked those in charge of the constituency development funds to incorporate persons with disabilities in the bursary distribution committees so as to ensure the issues of children with disabilities are well articulated for equitable distribution of the funds.
By Irungu Mwangi
