NAIROBI, Kenya Apr 20 – The government has announced that those wishing to apply for positions in the administration and regular police forces will be allowed to use waiting cards for national Ids, when the exercise kicks off on Tuesday next week.
Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang told Parliament on Wednesday that the decision was arrived at after consultation with his Internal Security counterpart George Saitoti.
The issuance of IDs has been suspended for three months to allow for the procurement of a contractor to develop the third generation documents.
"We have registered them, we have their details in our records, but we have no issued them with IDs. We are going to use the waiting cards as identity cards for all intentions and purposes and if the officers would want to verify whether it is genuine they can do so through the normal channels with our officers, "he said.
Mr Kajwang said the provision would only involve those who had already applied for the identification documents.
"I hope that this information will go down to officers who will be in charge of recruitment so that any person doesn\’t lose his/her chance because they have not got the ID," Mr Kajwang added.
Since July last year, the ministry has only been issuing passports while an estimated 800,000 applications for identity cards await processing.
Issuing of ID cards was discontinued after the expiry of Teluse Security Ltd\’s tender in June 2010. The company had been printing identity cards since 1995 and owns all rights and artworks to the current identity cards.
It was after this development that the ministry issued the tender inviting bids for third-generation ID cards, which was cancelled by the Public Procurement Oversight Authority.
The new cards will be equipped with a microchip containing the holder\’s details and other enhanced security features. The cards would make it hard for immigrants to enter the country illegally.
The national joint recruitment of more than 7,000 police trainees will be done at all the 286 district headquarters countrywide.
Applicants will be required to have a minimum academic requirement is a KCSE mean grade of C plain, aged between 18 and 28 years for KCSE holders and 30 years for university graduates.
Candidates will be required to present a written application stating their service of preference attaching copies of their original certificates and testimonials addressed to the Commissioner of Police or Commandant Administration Police.
The recruitment is intended to supplement the police population ahead of the 2012 General Election during which security agencies anticipate an upsurge in criminal activity.
An equal number of recruits will be selected from the country\’s administrative districts, and their names will be entered into a computer program for a national tally.
Police already have a programme to ensure that recruitment adheres to regional balance requirements. A total of 18,000 recruits will then be selected countrywide and their names processed to establish a final list of 7,000 recruits.
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