Government Spokesperson Col (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna has urged Kenyans who have received Huduma Cards text messages to pick up their cards so as to enable successful rollout.
Oguna said that so far,2.2 million texts have been sent out but only 300,000 Kenyans have responded, adding that this makes the ongoing rollout of the cards difficult.
Oguna noted that Mass distribution of #HudumaCards has started in Nairobi and will be rolled out in the other counties as well with majority expected to having received the cards by the end of the year.
“Two SMS notifications will be sent out to all who registered for #HudumaNumber to inform them the card is ready for collection. The first message will have a link, that once opened will prompt you to choose your preferred point of collection of the Huduma Card. The second message will notify you that the card is ready for collection and where to collect based on the choice you made when you opened the link on the first message,” Oguna explained.
He unveiled a toll-free number 0800221111 that goes to Huduma Centre and you can be assisted on where to get your #HudumaCard, to those that are unable to make this choice via phone, there is a
“If you do not respond to the first message, the #HudumaNumber Secretariat will choose the location that you will pick your card from, dependent on the area you made your application from,” he said.
He further explained that during registration, 37 million people were registered and out of those, 20 million are adults with Kenyans of 18 years above given the #HudumaNumberCard.
“Children under 18 years will only have a #HudumaNumber and upon turning 18 years they shall be issued with the card,” said Oguna.
He cautioned members of the public against fraudsters asserting that notification messages will only come to you from HUDUMA NUMBER and not any other phone number.
“If you gave out wrong information during the registration period of #HudumaNumber you will not get an SMS notification. When the next phase of registration is rolled out, we urge these and other Kenyans who never registered to ensure they do and give out the correct information.
He explained that the #HudumaNumberCard will replace the Kenyan Identity Card once it is totally rolled out.
by Alice Gworo
