Slightly above half of the Nyeri County population has registered in the ongoing National Identity Management System (NIIMS) registration exercise since it kicked off on April 2, countrywide.
The County Commissioner (CC), Yatich Kipkemei said 550,000 people representing 53 percent of the area population had registered by Tuesday for the NIIMS number popularly known as Huduma Namba out of a target population of 927, 000.
He however, said the figures were not satisfactory and much more needed to be done in terms of mobilization to ensure 100 percent registration by the time the mass registration campaign ends in less than three weeks’ time on May 17.
“We are currently doing average and we need to do more intense mobilization and public awareness campaign to ensure we net the unregistered population in the remaining time,” said the CC.
He said this during a meeting with the Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) at the county assembly grounds when he reached out at them to assist in the mobilization drive.
Kipkemei said their impact was critical given that they were directly in touch with people on the ground and their input would go a long way in improving the turnout and shoring up numbers.
The MCAs agreed to forge a common front in the registration drive by becoming Huduma Namba campaigners in their wards even as the County Commissioner gave them branded T-shirts and caps for that purpose.
The County Speaker, John Kaguchia said he was optimistic the partnership would achieve the intended purpose of creating more awareness and improving the numbers going forward.
“I believe the members who usually have audience on a daily basis in ceremonies such as weddings, funerals and other occasions will be able to talk to wananchi and create more awareness,” said the Speaker.
This, he said, would greatly boost the numbers registered in the county by probably a better margin than before.
By Samuel Waititu
