The National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed government institutions to comply with the law requiring at least five per cent of their workforce to be persons living with disabilities, warning that continued non-compliance amounts to a violation of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2003.

Writing on X on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, the Parliament noted that the committee, chaired by Butere MP Tindi Mwale, raised concern over the persistent failure by many state agencies to meet the statutory threshold during a review of the Auditor-General’s report on the National Lands Commission (NLC) for the 2023/2024 financial year.

According to the audit report, only seven out of the NLC’s 628 employees are persons with disabilities, representing just one per cent of the commission’s workforce. The Auditor-General further noted that despite recruiting 99 employees during the financial year under review, none were people living with a disability.

“Government agencies should be at the forefront in ensuring that people living with disabilities are part of the workforce, as required by the law. There is no excuse,” Mwale observed.

NLC admits falling below legal threshold

Appearing before the committee, NLC Chief Executive Officer Kabale Tache acknowledged that the commission had failed to meet the legal requirement, saying the institution was taking steps to address the shortfall.

“Out of 628 employees, only seven are individuals with disabilities, and we recognise that this is significantly below the required threshold. We are actively working to address this matter,” Tache said.

She attributed the low numbers to historical staffing challenges and limited applications from qualified persons with disabilities during previous recruitment exercises.

However, lawmakers dismissed the explanation, insisting that Kenya has many qualified persons with disabilities seeking employment and that public institutions must do more to ensure inclusive recruitment.

The committee urged the Commission to emulate agencies such as the Teachers Service Commission by partnering with organisations representing persons with disabilities during recruitment to help achieve the mandatory five per cent threshold.

Transport PS questioned

Earlier, the committee also met the principal secretary for the State Department for Transport, Mohamed Daghar, to respond to issues raised by the Auditor-General in the department’s audit reports for the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 financial years.

The PAC maintained that all government agencies must fully comply with disability employment laws and strengthen measures to promote equal employment opportunities across the public service.