Why persons with disabilities in Nakuru city want assessment fee scrapped
Nakuru Disability Network chairman Isaac Mwaura.
“As much as our city is growing, the inaccessibility to public transport and lack of ramps in buildings continue to be a challenge for persons with disabilities,” Nakuru Disability Network chairman Mr Isaac Kairu says, beginning our interview.
Our conversation is centred on the challenges that people with disabilities face every day, which he says is amplified by harassment coupled with verbal and physical abuse.
Beyond the tangible barriers, Mr Kairu states that the marginalized group also grapples with unemployment where they experience outright hostility.
This, according to Mr Kairu leads to majority of persons with disability selling sweets in the streets, despite having academic papers that could get them employed in white collar jobs.
“Moreover, the financial burden of disability is overwhelming. We are forced to pay PAYE and domestic tax, which according to the law, we should be exempted from,” he discloses.
Additionally, he notes that the Sh 600 assessment fee that is paid every five years should be abolished and the assessment procedure be done once, since the physical appearance of a person with disability will never change, regardless of the number of times they are accessed.
Mr Kairu expresses, “Another challenge is language barrier for the deaf especially when they visit institutions, such as hospitals. Therefore, we are suggesting that the government registers sign language as the third national language.”
Asked about the instances of persons with disabilities being used by crime syndicates to beg in the streets across the country, Mr Kairu says this behaviour is limited to unregistered foreigners who are now ruining the image of every person with disability.
“As a chairperson, it is my duty to amplify our voices and communicate our challenges, so as to work towards a more inclusive and equitable society,” he concludes.