Task-forcing the major disability issues

ANDY spent yesterday putting disability issues on the agenda of Kenya’s devolved government planners.

We went to one of the public meetings in Nairobi organised by a government task force, which is visiting each of Kenya’s 47 counties to ask for views on what devolved government should look like.

This was the last public meeting, but you can still have your say. ANDY is putting together a special report containing the views of persons with disabilities and the organisations that represent them. Click here for more information.

The task force wants to know people’s opinions on just about everything, including how to protect minorities, how parties should select their lists for proportional representation, how government should communicate with us and what will make people want to participate.

So ANDY’s team set off for the meeting determined to represent the views of the persons with disabilities we have been speaking to about the big issues. It is a very good job we were there to do it, as the vast majority of persons with disabilities would not have been able to participate. 



The top of the less than friendly steep path down to the venue.
The task force is on the right, the people some distance away on the left!

To start with, there was an unadvertised change of venue, which we only discovered after being sent all around the original venue, the DO’s compound, and asking just about everyone where this major public meeting was. Finding the location and then reaching the new venue – Joseph Kangathe fields by Nairobi Water – took around an hour. If this long walk didn’t stop persons with physical disabilities attending, then the steep, uneven path to the seating area would. It was totally inaccessible to wheelchairs.

This theme continued from there. There was no sign language interpreter and the speakers made constant references to material which had been handed out; but no versions were available in braille or large print.

Lilian puts your issues on the task force's agenda

 So when ANDY’s Lilian Kivutu was given the floor by the chair it was not difficult for the crowd and task force to understand the points she made about accessibility, inclusion and communication with persons with disability. The task force is promising a separate consultation with persons with disabilities as part of the process. This is great news but inclusion will only exist when persons with disabilities are able to take part in mainstream events like this one. The minority groups will stay marginalised if they are not allowed to take a full and active part in all aspects of Kenyan life. This is what the constitution promises, but it is down all of us to make those promising words turn into reality.  

As many of the early contributors were being heckled and by the crowd and warned by the chair for speaking for far too long, Lilian wisely decided to concentrate on the most pressing issues. She gave a passionate and informed contribution covering how to communicate with, encourage participation of and protect persons with disabilities in devolved government. The key points she made are:

• To protect the minorities and marginalised groups they must be represented at all levels of policy making.
• Education and awareness on civic knowledge must be done to let them know why they should be protected ,who and what protects them and the steps they should take if and when their rights have been violated.
• A quarterly gazette should be produced documenting what the county has done, how much has been spent and what funds are left to spend.
• The information and communication should be made in such way that it gets to everyone. For example a sign language interpreter should be used to reach the deaf in every county, documents should also be produced in both braillle and large print the simplest language possible should be used.
• In all counties public institutions must be accessible to all persons with disabilities who are using wheelchairs and all other forms of assistive devices.There are lots more issues to have your say on. Please click here and help ANDY tell the government what you want from your devolved governments.