Disability is not Inability

Its Tough life for the disabled due to lack of a helping hand.

Lucas Ndiege Winda;

Daily Nation January 17 2007.

The government and other players have not been thinking seriously about the welfare of people wtih disabilities. It has allowed operations by many groups purporting to be catering for disabled people.

All they are doing is soliciting funds from donors to benefit themselves. Other associations, such as the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya have been handicapped by limited resources. The organisation is not in a position to repair and /or manitain many wheelchairs and walking aids.

To make matters worse, it has since been relocated from Nairobi city centre to an inaccessible place in the westlands area. Another body that the disabled people once hade great confidence in is the National Fund for the Disabled. It is not doing any better these days. It is located in Rehema House in downtown Nairobi. Although the headquatersof the fund is upstairs, there is no lift for the disabled when they go there in search of aid.

Also, the fund's terms and conditions are rather technical and too cumbersome to meet, and, therefore, put off those who would have sought help. one of the schools that cater for the needy, Starehe Boys Centre, in nairobi, also has no specific facilities for the disabled students.

Problems facing people with disabilites are not confined to these few examples. The same sorry state of affairs obtains in the public and private universities and in other institutions of higher learning such as the national polytechnics.

Mombasa secondary school for the physically handicapped, the only national school for the disabled, is unfortunately also in pathetic condition. The plight of the disabled has been made worse worse with the recent relocation of business from the city centre. Shops which used to sell spare parts for wheelchairs such as Kenya Cycle Mart, the Nairobi Enterprise moved their business from the city centre. This makes it difficult for the persons with disabilities to access them.

Another big culprit is Nairobi City Council. It has not been putting ramps on crossing paths or at major bus stages such as kencom and Ambassadeaur Hotel as they rehabilitate raods and pavements.

To add insult to injury for the disabled people, the persosn with disabilites Act 2003 has not been implemented. It was enacted on December 31, 2003 through a Kenya Gazette supplement No. 111 of January 9, 2004, and the commencement date was to be June 16, 2004 throughlegal notice No. 64.

Four years later, the law is still not operational. The notice to all employers placed in the Daily Nation on May 3, 2006 to implement the Tax exemption and retirement Age limit for disability has turned to be a gimmick.

The Kenya Revenue Authority has said that the mechanism for granting tax exemtion contained in 35 (1) and section 35 (2) has not been sanctioned by Ministry of Gender, Sports and Services. And the minister seems not to be concerned nearly four years.

My advise to the government, therefore, is to create a suitable environment for the physically challenged to enhance opportunities for their development and progress by addressing the above issues as a matter of priority.

In any case disability is not inability, hence the need for opportunity not sympathy.

LUCAS NDIEGE WINDA
Nairobi.

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