Kilifi physically challenged persons accuse county govt of sidelining them

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Kilifi, KENYA: People living with disabilities are crying foul over what they term as negligence by the Kilifi County Government.

They are saying the County Government has been giving them a deaf ear on matters relating to jobs and tenders.

Speaking during an exercise to clean up Kilifi Oloitiptip market over the weekend, Hilary Jilani, chairman of Kilifi County People living with disabilities forum said the move is meant to portray the capacity of them in issues concerning the community.

He said they are planning to go round the whole County to carry out cleaning exercises because they can.

“Today we are here to clean this Oloitiptip market, secondly we want to inform the leaders of this County Government and national Government that people living with disabilities are able to do anything that other people can do,” he added.

He said they have been overlooked by the government for reasons best known to them especially when they sort tenders and jobs from the County Government.

“We are totally not recognized by the leaders of this county themselves,” Jilani said.

“Their officers are very arrogant aside from giving us services. Another issue is that some of us are used by people not living with disabilities to startup companies and then nothing is of benefit to us,” he added.

On the issue of education, they said the government has not bothered to startup special schools to cater for them.

Alice Kadzo, one of the people living with disabilities said the county Government must recognize them as it does other people.

She said many of them are living under harsh conditions and that they are suffering from hunger and lack other basic needs.

“They are not bothered to ensure they have interpreters of sign language during meetings. There are a no special schools and to make things worse we are stigmatized by County officers,” Kadzo added.

Efforts to get a comment from the County government of Kilifi proved futile.

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