Disability is not Inability

:: Budget 2007

While we too "have watched as the economy grew from 0.3 percent to 6 percent", the country's appettite for spending on non essentials continues to amaze. There is a feeling we are spending too much on perfumes and lipstick at the expence of sickness, disease and illeteracy. No wonder many people claim not to have felt the growth trickle down. So are the persons with disabilities.

The current budgetary allocation for recurrent expenditure continue to sacrifice essential development investment including disability friendly adjustments for the vulnerable groups. While it is true that revenue collection has risen the country to the level where 95% of our needs are met from internal resources, the allocation of these to productive sectors has continued to be stifled by an insatiably gluttonous spending by government. reading between the lines of Anglo-leasing type of contracts reveals alot.

Sleeze flourishes even in the face of hardcore poverty choking various parts of the country. That the country is better managed than the former regime is undeniable. The country raised almost 400 Billion in revenue (compared to just above 200 biliion in 2001/2 financial year when NARC came to power) yet spent all of it in recurent needs at the expense of development needs. Last years allocation for infrustructure was huge but actual roads built was negligible.

Are we living within our means.

While revenue collection has gone up spending has equally shot and in non urgent sectors leaving nothing for real poverty eradication and equalisation of opportunities for a larger majority of Kenyans. For a forty year old parent(the country got independence 40 years ago), this is highly irresponsible.

While we must be proud for achieving some sort of self-reliance in revenue collection, we should not use the freedom that comes with this, to trample on the basic rights of the more vulnerable citizenry. Why should we spend on non essentials and claim those who are not benefiting must be living in a different world.

People with disabilities don't want handouts. "We want equal opportunities to exploit available opportunties" Say Amina, a young woman with hearing imapirments. John Kibichi dreams of an opportunity in the free education that enables him to be the planning minister by 2030 irrespective of his impairment.

We should spend more on the youth and women's access to sustainable income opportunities, while putting more to access to social services for the vulnerable groups like persons with disabilities, Persons living with AIDS to be able to be treated, read and work. To achieve a middle-income economy 40-70 percent of Kenyans need to be middle income eaners themselves not 10-15% of the 35 million Kenyans.

According to the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey -2005/6, about 22 million Kenyans in this country live in the very low middle-income to absolute rural poverty (17 Million), lacking a environment to enable them profitably improve their productivity. The cost of starting and sustaining a business as a woman with disabilities is far beyond even our superhuman strength. This country needs to not only educate her better but also provide accessible credit and opportunities for affordable housing and health to enable her relocate more resources to saving and participation in the vibrant stock market.

This can not only be done through Private public partnerships in infrustructure development but also within the frameworks of sustainablility, affordability and accessability.

Sustainability would mean she will be able to grow her business from self employment to giving jobs to 5 to 50 other Kenyans. It also means large scale infrustructure is built within universal userbility. All Kenyans of whatever physical, sensory or mental impairment should be able to access these facilities built by public funds. It would mean all training are equally accessible irrespective of where she lives or what impairment she has.

Affordability would therefore mean, opportunities should be built within reach, widespread talk about mortgage is yet unrealistic to many Kenyans living in Nairobi.

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