It’s a month after the country reported its first coronavirus
case and the government seems to be taking another cause in the fight against
the pandemic.
Addressing the nation on Thursday, president Uhuru Kenyatta announced
a number of new measures, for the very first time touching the vulnerable
members of the society.
“Since the start of the coronavirus in the country, we have
heard the president now thinking of us. This is a good move,” said Mr. Opis
Ojiambo, chairman of person living with disability Trans Nzoia County.
The president in his speech stated that the government has
released Shs.8.5 billion to support the elderly and vulnerable individuals
under the Cash Transfer Programmme run by the Ministry of Labour for the months
ahead.
In addition, the president said Shs.500 million, which was in
arrears, will also be released to persons living with disabilities.
Mr.Ojiambo lamented that the county government has kept them
in darkness after sidelining them from
the committee that is being chaired by the county commissioner for the Corona
emergency board pandemic.
“This is a committee formed from the national level to county
levels, sadly in Trans Nzoia county we are still in the dark –we are yet to be
included in the emergency team,” he said.
The chair further said the inclusion of the members will
enable the response committee to reach people getting more information through
their leaders.
“We should be included in the emergence committee team that
has been formed by the government to provide information from our colleagues
who are in the rural areas to get information through their leaders in various
villages,” said Mr. Ojiambo.
Ojiambo further said that the Cash Transfer Programme does
not include all persons living with disability, adding that the county needs to
include them since they are the sole beneficiaries.
“A majority of the members are not in the programme and even
the severely disabled persons, and this is a big challenge. We wish the
government could include us all in the programme in order to make life bearable
for us,” he added.
The Trans Nzoia Disabled Person with Disability project of toilet
and carwash, which serves the traders and customers at Line Moja area together
with an Mpesa shop, has been helping the group to sustain the lives of people
living with disabilty.
The project funded by the women representative Trans Nzoia
County Ms. Janet Nangabo has been of great impact to many disabled persons in
the group.
“The county women representative has been of great help to
the disabled society. Most of the support we needed has been from her and she
has been working hand in hand with us for the best of the society which has
made us feel part and parcel of the county and society.” said Mr. Ojiambo.
He further urges the government to provide the disabled
persons with hand sanitizers and personal protective equipment to avoid falling
into the wrong side of the law.
“If you are caught walking without a face mask, you will be
fined Kshs.20,000 or sentenced to imprisonment. People living with disability
cannot obviously afford such penalties and we are therefore calling on the
county government to save them by providing the masks,” said Mr. Ojiambo.
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