According to Kenya Citizens and Foreign Nationals Management Service Director General, Mwende Gatabaki, the move will see all Kenyans issued with a unique digital identifier which replaces all documents except passports and driving licences/CFM
According to Kenya Citizens and Foreign Nationals Management Service Director General, Mwende Gatabaki, the move will see all Kenyans issued with a unique digital identifier which replaces all documents except passports and driving licences.
She says it will allow Kenyans to transact their affairs using paperless identification documents.
“Over 40 percent births and over 50 percent of deaths are not captured in the national registry, thus complicating national planning, as well as paving way for identity theft and fraud,” she told Capital FM news in an interview.
“Children who die before age of five years never existed, and the government cannot therefore implement effective interventions to reduce mortality rate.”
She noted that over 10 percent of the current data in the National Registry consists of individuals who have died, but their IDs are very active in financial transactions and voting.
“The extent to which our national identify documents – birth certificates, identity cards and passports – are compromised is not known. It gets worse, the porosity of our borders is immense, you can be deported through one, and you drive in through another one on the same day,” she stated.
She pointed out that all Kenyans should have been registered by May next year and that the programme will further help the government in improving security in the country.
“We plan to leverage technology and transform the way we manage our information assets and translate it to a competitive knowledge advantage in responding to the emerging threats of terrorism and intensifying criminal activities. The National Digital Registry Service project will effectively provide that platform to strengthen our National Security, curb crime and help improve Safety,” she explained.
She assured that the project will not only drive efficiency, effectiveness and accountability in public service delivery but will also provide services that are affordable, accessible and reliable.
“It’s about social inclusion. Kenyans will be able to authentic themselves using the Digital IDs (DID) on their mobile phones, to access public services from anywhere, anytime and any day, without paper documents. It will pave way for issuance of passports, which will make Kenyans enjoy travel through our airports as they swipe their ePassports on the Smart Gates without spending time in queues,” she stated.
She indicated that once completed, the DID platform will provide for a stronger national security surveillance and crime management system and further facilitate the sharing of information between security agencies.
She stated that the DID will feature a range of uses including; Birth, Marriage, Death, Driving license, NHIF, NSSF, Voters registration as well as pave way for electronic voting.
“It will significantly strengthen revenue collection. It will make service delivery and monitoring such as funds dispatched to the Youth and Women more effective, it will rid the government of ghost workers. It will cut down the costs of service delivery for the citizens, businesses and the government,” she added.
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