The government through the state department for Immigration and Citizen Services is set to roll out a new identity, the Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) to identify citizens’ right from birth.
Speaking in Eldoret during a familiarisation tour, the Principal Secretary State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services Ambassador Julius Bitok pointed out that the government has rolled out the UPI and has put in place strategies by starting a pilot project to ensure it is effected successfully from 1st July this year.
He indicated that the number is allocated when a child is born right in the hospital and will be used to identify the child in school, as an ID number, in accessing KRA, NSSF and other government services throughout one’s lifetime.
Additionally, those attaining 18 years will get UPI number instead of the current national Identity (ID) number while those already with IDs, will use their ID numbers as UPI number.
“We want our people to be given UPI; it will be one number that a child will be given to be used as school registration number from primary to university, it will be used as ID number, NSSF number and on everything up to death certificate number,” he said.
Amb. Bitok affirmed that the UPI number is the one that will enable the government to establish digital identity for all citizens and also will enable Kenyans access government services through the E-Citizen digital platform.
“It will be a number that the citizens will appreciate its services, it is the same that will be used to get digital identity, when you want services from E-Citizen, you will use that UPI number. And for those people who have attained 18 years already and with an ID number, their UPI will be the ID number, we shall not have to register people again,” explained Amb. Bitok.
He further noted that the new identity will be different from the huduma number adding that the huduma number had challenges and that the UPI has been designed in a different way in that unlike huduma which was allocated to people from 18 years old, the UPI is given automatically from the hospital upon birth.
“Huduma number had challenges but for UPI, we have engaged many stakeholders to ensure that it is within the provisions of the law,” he noted.
By Ekuwam Sylvester
