Laikipia residents have been sensitised about the Maisha Namba digital identification card ahead of the official launch on September 29 by President Dr. William Ruto.
Laikipia County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri, speaking during a public participation forum on Maisha Digital ID in the Nturukuma location on the outskirts of Nanyuki Town, said that, in introducing the new digital ID, the government saw a need to leverage technology since the current IDs were out-dated.
“We have had ID registration since colonial times, and we have continued digitising our records for easy retrieval. It has reached a point where the government has decided there is a need to upgrade and acquire Maisha Namba for efficient service delivery,” said the administrator.
He noted that Kenyans had many government identification documents, including the Kenya Revenue Authority PIN, the National Security Social Fund, the National Health Insurance Fund, birth certificates, and national ID card, among other documents that were bulky and tedious to retrieve when seeking government services, and that with the expected rollout of the digital ID, that would be a thing of the past.
“The digital ID would ensure that personal data is consolidated into a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) for efficient service delivery when seeking government services,” Kanyiri said.
The administrator noted that the Maisha Namba would serve as a unique lifelong personal number from the moment one is born until their death.
He called on residents to turn up and get registered once they launch the exercise later this month.
National Registration Bureau, Laikipia County Coordinator Munene Mugira said that the 2nd generation ID card was out-dated and didn’t match with the 2010 Constitution; hence, the government needed to phase it out.
“The government seeks to replace outdated information in the current ID card like districts, which were used before the new Constitution. So it will be of great importance for you to get the digital ID,” said Mugira.
He lauded the Maisha card, noting it would be of great relief to people wishing to travel within the East African Community since they would not require travel documents such as passports as the Maisha Namba card would be authorised. Mugira said that the Maisha Namba card met the international standard of UPI.
Ann Wanjira, a resident, said that it was a good project since their personal documents would be consolidated into a single database for efficient service delivery.
On his part, John Kamau, a resident, said that the government spent a lot of money to replace IDs and thus called for a lasting solution to ensure there would be no such initiative in the future.
Meanwhile, the new Maisha Namba will have improved security features that can’t be altered or forged. Further, for one to be issued the Maisha Namba card, he or she would be required to have their photo taken, residential data, biometric data, and biographic data taken to ensure the card has strong and unique security features that are not prone to manipulation.
By Muturi Mwangi
