Huduma Namba: The Sh. 6 billion national biometric registration exercise that is aimed at giving all Kenyans a unique identification number has kicked off.
The exercise dubbed Huduma Namba was launched on Monday by Interior Permanent Secretary Karanja Kibicho in Nyandarua County and is expected to be piloted in 15 counties across the country.
The National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) pilot project will be done in Nairobi, Nyandarua, Makueni, Uasin Gishu, Embu, Busia, Kajiado, Baringo, Marsabit, Kilifi, Kisii, Tana River, Embu, Kisumu, and Wajir.
Once the pilot phase is complete, mass registration of persons across the whole country has been scheduled to begin on March 18, 2019.
The government has made it mandatory for all Kenyan Citizens and registered foreigners resident in Kenya to undergo the registration that was established in the 2018 Amendment of Registration of Persons Act Sec. 9A. It will cost a shilling to register for Huduma Namba.
Kenyans will be required to register for to access services like applying for an ID, Passport or driving licence or a birth certificate.
It is meant to get data for persons from the age of six and create and manage a central master population register. Every applicant must be present at the registration centres for Biometrics. The government further states that the exercise will run for 30 days only.
Huduma Namba will be a useful tool for the government to use in national planning, social services, project resource allocation and even project infrastructure.
In as much as your documents will be in the system, you will still need your Identification Card as the data entered in the system has to go through a verification process so as to be sure if the information goes hand in hand with what has already been recorded.
For foreigners especially short-term visitors or tourists, they will not be expected to get a Huduma Namba. Those who will be required to register are those with the status of students, workers and/or asylum seekers.