Government has rolled out a ten-day mobile national identification registration exercise in West Pokot County, which is part of the continued efforts to take essential registration services closer to the communities in the marginalized and border regions.
The Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen who launched the exercise, said these mobile registration units would enable over 100, 000 people in the county who are without national ID cards to access one.
He further explained that National IDs are a vital document for Kenyans to access different government services and facilities. Murkomen said the county-level program is only the beginning of a series of measures through which the government intends to improve access to public registries in border counties. Historically, these areas have not had easy access to such services.
“We have chosen border and marginalized counties for this initiative so that no Kenyan will be left behind due to lack of identification, ” reiterated the Cabinet Secretary, noting that around 15 other border counties will also be taken through such mobile registration drives.
By using live capture machines and fully digitized systems, the officials conducting registration have significantly simplified the registration process besides saving residents time and eliminating certain transport costs usually incurred when going to the registration offices. Officials say the mobile approach is designed to enhance efficiency
The officials say the mobile approach is a tool to increase efficiency, accuracy in data, and registration to be faster and more accessible, especially for the citizens who would have to travel long distances to the registration centres.
The move is anticipated to close the bridge between the people and the government services whereby more Kenyans will get education, healthcare, financial services, and social protection programmes through the national identification.
