Persons With Disabilities are getting a raw deal in the state recruitment, a Parliamentary report indicates.
According to the report by the National Assembly committee on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity, most state agencies have failed to even meet half the threshold required by the law.
Article 54 (2) that reserves at least five per cent of the members of the public in elective and appointive bodies are persons with disabilities.
The committee chaired by Mandera West MP Yussuf Haji conducted audit in 39 state agencies to gauge their compliance with Article 54 (2) on persons living with disabilities.
Out of the 39 state institutions, only one met the threshold with the remaining 38 failing the test.
“The committee notes that since the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, public institutions have not complied with the required threshold for appointing of persons with disabilities and the average percentage of PWD representation in each of the institutions sampled stands at 2.1 per cent,” the report indicates.
“Despite the provisions of Article 54 (2) of the constitution, which requires that persons with disabilities should make up at least five per cent of the workforce, only one of the institutions interviewed has complied.”
According to the report tabled before National Assembly on Wednesday, only Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency had 5.8 per cent of its workforce made up of PWDs.
The agency has a staff establishment of 69 officers out of which four are person with disabilities.
Two agencies— Kenya National Shipping Line and Office of the Data Protection Commissioner— failed completely to comply with the report indicating they had no PWDs in their workforce.
KNSL has a staff establishment of 19 while Office of Data Protection Commissioner has 45 employees. None of them is a PWD.
Other agencies which failed the PWD law are Coast Water Development Agency, Nema, National Irrigation Authority, LAPFUND, NTSA, IEBC, KPA, Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis and Kenya Airports Authority.
Others are Kenya Railways Corporation, Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation, National Police Service Commission, Rivatex East Africa Limited, Kenya Seed Company, TSC, Anti-Counterfeit Authority, NSSF, KEBS, Pwani university, Kenya Maritime Authority, Coast Development Agency and Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute.
Also failing the test are Communication Authority of Kenya, Ken Trade, Kemri, Kengen, KeNHA, Tourism Fund, Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency, Kenya Industrial Institute, Northern Water Works Development Agency, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.
Maseno, Kisii and Kibabii universities also were found to be non-compliant.
On average, the institutions posted less than two per cent of PWDs in their payrolls.
“The average percentage of PWDs employees in each of the institutions sampled stands at 2.1 percentage underscoring the importance of further efforts to enhance the inclusion and participation of PWDs across a broader spectrum of institutions and sectors,” the report states.
Most of the agencies told the committee during the inquiry that most PWDs do not apply for the opportunities hence the gap.
“Additionally, the institutions that appeared before the committee submitted that they do not receive applications from persons with disabilities, hence their low representation,” Haji said.
The Haji-led team now recommends that all public institutions review their human resource policies within three months of the adoption of the report to ensure compliance with the law.
“Public institutions should also regularly review and update their disability mainstreaming policies to ensure they remain effective and inclusive in line with Article 54 (2 of the Constitution).”