Two legislators from Tana River County have appealed to pastoralists to register for the Huduma Namba so that they may not miss out on government services.
The Tana River Senator, Juma Wario and Garsen Member of Parliament, Ali Wario Guyo said they were worried that members of pastoralist communities could be sidelined by the government for failing to register for the unique identifier.
The two leaders, who were distributing relief food to residents of Mandingo area in Tana Delta Sub County to mark the beginning of Ramadhan, told residents not to take the government initiative for granted.
“Huduma Namba is meant to help the government provide services to its citizens with ease and those who do not heed the call to register will have themselves to blame,” Guyo said.
The MP urged them to ensure they register for the national integrated identity management system (NIIMS) number aka Huduma Namba in the remaining ten days by visiting registration centres across the county.
“There are less that then days to the end of the mass registration period and since the government has not announced any extension, it is upon you to ensure you acquire the number by visiting the nearest registration centre,” he said.
He however, asked the national government to increase the number of registration kits and personnel to hasten the exercise.
Guyo also called on the government to hasten the issuance of National Identity Cards to residents, noting that many did not have the crucial document.
“The vetting process for the acquisition of national identity cards is too hectic and marred with corruption and
favouritism,” he claimed.
He promised to work with national government administrative officers and registration clerks to ensure that all eligible persons acquire the documents.
Vetting committees were re-constituted recently and stricter vetting procedure instituted to ensure that non-Kenyans do not acquire the identification documents.
Residents have complained that the process was too slow and costly as they have to travel long distances to be vetted unlike in the past when registration clerks and vetting committee members conducted mobile registration.
By Emmanuel Masha
