Bungoma Deputy Governor Jennifer Mbatiany has urged people living with disability to form groups and saccos to benefit from the Disability, Youth and Women Funds.
Speaking today at Wanangali Hotel at Kanduyi Constituency during the disability round-table stakeholders forum organized by Disability Empowerment Network (DEN), in partnership with the department of Gender, Culture, Youths and Sports in Bungoma, Mbatiany stressed the need to mainstream and address the plight of people living with disability.
Mbatiany said that God created everyone with a purpose and that people should cherish brothers and sisters abled differently.
“We are committed to ensuring we capture their concerns in our development agenda to cater for their interests,” Mbatiany said.
The deputy governor said that this will only be possible if persons living with disability form groups and Saccos since it will be easy to support them.
Mbatiany noted that the administration of Governor Kenneth Lusaka has factored the Disability Fund the budget to enable people living with special needs benefit from an all-inclusive development.
Paul Wafula from Kimilili asked the County administration to operationalize the 5 percent constitutional requirement for inclusivity of disabled persons when it comes to employment at the county level.
He further asked the county government to ensure that all persons living with disability who are conducting business in the county are exempted from taxation.
Mary Nasimiyu asked persons living with disability to engage in economic activities that they are able to do and stop begging along the streets.
She lamented that the habit of begging portrays a bad picture of other persons living with disability, hence people undermine them in the society.
Mbatiany cautioned families that are hiding persons living with disability that the law will take its cause. She asked anyone with information about such to report to the police or officers of interior and coordination of national government for remedial action to be taken.
The deputy governor assured persons living with disability that their grievances will be looked into by the Lusaka administration.