The on-going registration of Huduma number continued with various areas reporting mixed results. Elsewhere some County Commissioners continued to warn those who will not register that they will not access government services despite a court order barring government from making the process compulsory.
Homa Bay County residents were turned away when they showed up to get registered in the National Integrated Management System (NIIMS) due to system failure.
Speaking to KNA in his office,Homa Bay County Commissioner Samson Irungu said the whole county recorded similar problem of network breakdown. In some registration centers, residents were turned back at the gate.
Those who had turned up to get their Huduma number were asked to return on another day.
Irungu said in some sub counties, the exercise was conducted successfully in the morning hours when internet connectivity was available and registered a few residents.
However some clerks took advantage of the availability of network in the morning to register a few residents. At least 1.6 million people are expected to be registered in the region.
In Moyale Deputy County Commissioner Patrick Mumali called on churches and mosques to be on the frontline to create awareness to their members on the Huduma Namba. He also appealed to community leaders and politicians to help the government in achieving a 100 percent registration that would enable them access government services.
In Nyanza, Regional Commissioner James Kianda who was accompanied by Kisumu County Commissioner Pauline Dola acknowledged that there were teething problems at the onset of the exercise but the challenges have since been addressed.
An Assistant Chief Madiwa Jacob of Sunga Sub Location cracked the network impasse and resolved the ICT challenges that were slowing down the operationalization of the bio-metric kits.
The Assistant Chief who boasts a Diploma in ICT and Electrical Engineering brought his previous experience with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission which had used similar biometric kits to jump start the process where initial hiccups were reported.
So passionate is Madiwa in handling ICT related challenges to the amazement of the team who appreciated the need for all government officers to be techno-savvy.
Meanwhile Machakos has registered total of 48,151 persons at the end of the third day of registration against its daily target of 8, 801.
Speaking to journalist in her office Thursday, Machakos County Commissioner Esther Maina said the county targeting to register a total of 2,166,805 persons by the May 18 of next month when the 45 day exercise is expected to elapse. She said the figure was boosted by the Presidential launch of the exercise which took place in Masii on Tuesday.
However A three-judge bench comprising Justices Weldon Korir, Pauline Nyamweya and MumbiNgugi, last Monday ruled that the government should not make the exercise mandatory or issue deadlines for the collection of NIIMS data.
The government was also barred from collecting DNA data and GPS coordinates as part of the NIIMS data, pending determination of the case challenging the exercise. The court also barred the government from sharing the NIIMS information with any foreign organization.
Coast Regional Commissioner (RC) John Elungata accompanied by Mombasa County Commissioner (CC) Evans Achoki toured several areas in the coastal city to supervise the biometric registration exercise that began on Tuesday across the country.
Elungata called for a large turnout for the biometric identity scheme that he said will propel Kenya into the digital age.
He said NIIMS better known as ‘HudumaNamba’ will enable Kenyans to easily access vital government services and urged residents to support the programme.
Upon registration, one will be given a HudumaNamba which will assign a personal unique identification to facilitate issuance of government services.
Elungata said the 45-day exercise that seeks to register all Kenyans in the new digital database was also going on well in Kwale, Kilifi, TaitaTaveta, Lamu and Tana River counties.
Nairobi Regional Commissioner (RC) Wilson Njenga while registering at Muthurwa Chiefs camp said that having this number will help the police to catch up with criminals who take advantage of identity card theft that is used for false identification and conning of people via Mpesa.
“The police will be able to know the real identity of a person since they will be having each individual’s photograph and fingure prints,” The RC said.
Meanwhile Interior Principal Secretary (PS) KaranjaKibicho said that the biometric registration of persons has many advantages citing an example of the National Police Service (NPS) who recently digitized their human resource records and were able to identify 2,700 people who were on the payroll but have not yet come out for the biometric registration.
“We have been able to stop the salary of the 2, 700 which is saving for the government Kshs.148 million per month which translates to Kshs.1.5 billion per year. This demonstrates what NIIMS can be able to achieve if well utilised,” explained the PS.
Kibicho however noted that the process has not been without hitches saying that they have been experiencing technical snags due to the fact that the registration assistants are still learning how to use the kits and the software.
From Baringo County Commissioner Henry Wafula has asked Chiefs and NyumbaKumi elders to take advantage of the three weeks holiday period and ensure that learners fully participate in the exercise.
He stated that the registration of young children from six years and above in the area apart from boosting the county registration target of 865,969 people, it will have given the children the opportunity to enjoy government services for as long as they are in school.
Wafula who was accompanied by Koibatek deputy county commissioner Mary Macharia and Mogotio counterpart Albert Mwaringa, explained that the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) popularly known as HudumaNamba was not in any way related to National Education Management Information System (NEMIS).
Elsewhere inNyeri town’s Whispers Park, Nyeri Regional Commissioner Wilfred Nyangwangasaid more than 800,000 people in Nyeri are expected to be registered by the end of the 45-day country wide exercise.
He asked people to come out in large numbers and register since the programme will be a benefit to many people when they go to seek government services because it will be a one stop shop for all individual documents held by the government.
Nyeri Governor MutahiKahigawho was also present supported the programme and said his government is ready to work with the National government and ensure everyone is registered in the county.
By KNA Team
