• The grace period for buildings to comply with the People with Disabilities Act elapsed in 2014.
• The law guarantees PWDs unhindered access to buildings.
Image: Photo/Monicah Mwangi
Demolish all buildings inaccessible to people with disabilities, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka said yesterday.
Kalonzo said inaccessible buildings are putting people living with disabilities at a disadvantage.
“Public and private buildings in all the county headquarters should be friendly to people with disabilities and action should be taken on those that are not, even if it means demolishing them,” Kalonzo said.
He said while it is expensive to put up the building, it was equally important for the building owners to comply with the law.
The former vice president spoke at a conference at Strathmore University.
He said the 2014 deadline for accessibility compliance as stipulated in the Persons with Disabilities Act had elapsed.
The 2009 Act gave owners of buildings a grace period of up 2014 to redesign their buildings for compliance.
The law also guarantees PWDs unhindered access to buildings and compels developers to make this possible.
There are at least 1 million people with various forms of disability in Kenya.
Kalanzo said despite the grace period elapsing, a majority of buildings not only in Nairobi but major towns were yet to fully comply with this directive.
“Buildings that have been put up illegally or on wrong areas are being brought down and maybe the same should also be extended to those that are not compliant with PWD law,” he said.
Kalonzo who was accompanied by Matungulu MP Stephen Mule called on Parliament to pass and push for implementation of laws that are pro-PWDs.
He also said the State and its agencies should comply with the laws and ensure that PWDs are not only considered for contracts but their employment also meet the five percent rule.
“We need to see drastic shift in policy, people with disabilities should benefit from the 30 percent access to procurement,” he said.
(Edited by O. Owino)