Parliamentary Committee Expresses Disappointment Over Employment Of PWDs By State Agencies
A parliamentary committee has voiced strong disappointment over the low representation of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in major state agencies, revealing that none of the surveyed bodies have met the constitutional 5% employment quota.
During a session led by Committee Chairperson Yussuf Adan Haji (Mandera North), officials from the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), and the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) appeared before the National Assembly Committee on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity.
The meeting was convened to review workforce diversity and inclusion as per Article 54(2) of the Constitution.
Data presented to the committee showed significant shortfalls in PWD inclusion; i.e., KeNHA had the highest rate but still fell short, employing 11 PWDs out of 474 staff (2.3%); GDC followed with 20 PWDs out of 904 employees (2%); and KeRRA reported the lowest inclusion rate, with only 9 PWDs among its 690 staff members (1.3%).
"It is very sad that PWDs are still excluded from employment in key state agencies despite the Constitution clearly stipulating that 5 percent of positions be set aside for them," said Haji, who emphasized that state bodies should lead by example and warned that the committee would not tolerate continued marginalization.
In their defense, the agency heads cited several challenges, including a low number of qualified applicants with disabilities, limited recent recruitment drives, and a high number of seconded staff from parent ministries. They also proposed that Parliament consider new legislation to enforce fixed quotas for PWDs in public hiring.
The committee also used the session to assess the ethnic diversity of the agencies' staff and their compliance with the 30% procurement reservation for special interest groups, including youth, women, and PWDs.
Source: THE STAR
Tags: NCPWD SignsTV Pwd Empowernment Pwd Inclusion
