Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok has announced that the government will now be able to print National Identification Cards (IDs) within 24- hours.
The PS while speaking during National Dissemination exercise of the fourth Medium Term Plan (MTP IV) in Nandi County on June 11 noted that this move is aimed at clearing the national ID backlog.
PS Bitok noted that additional machine has been procured to cope with growing demand.
Interior PS Raymond Omollo while chairing the meeting said the decision is aimed at coordinating the fulfillment of government commitments and promises, as well as tracking, monitoring, and resolving obstacles.
“The discussion focused on coordinating the fulfillment of government commitments and promises, as well as tracking, monitoring, and resolving obstacles in the implementation of development projects in Governance, Security, Devolution, Regional Integration, and Foreign Affairs,” he said.
The bold step by the government comes after thousands of frustrated Kenyans complained of having to wait for months to receive their ID cards with no success.
This according to most of Kenyans has consequently made them face difficulties when applying for jobs, travel or even start businesses.
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Bitok said the delays were occasioned by a breakdown in production machines and a court order issued last year December that suspended the issuance of new digital identification cards.
This affected over half a million Kenyans who turned 18 after mid-November, as they could not register for a new mobile phone SIM card, open a bank account, or access Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) funding.
In December 2023, the High Court froze the issuance of ID cards, also known as Maisha Number, following an application filed by Katiba Institute.
The High Court in February 2024 lifted the injunction barring the government from issuing new digital identity cards.
This announcement also follows Interior CS’s declaration of significant enhancements to the passport issuance procedure by addressing issues such as delays stemming from underfunding, corruption, supply chain disruptions, and delivery inefficiencies.
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He noted that government had addressed the backlog of pending passports, reducing it from 724,000 in March 2024 to below 50,000.
Kindiki revealed that the applicants would now be able to receive their passports within 21 days after application starting May 1, 2024.
Additionally, this waiting period is set to reduce to seven days from August 1, and eventually three days from November 1, 2024.
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