Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Friday, September 8 addressed delays experienced in the processing of police clearance documents popularly known as the certificate of good conduct.
Kindiki visited the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters to assess the system malfunctions that have stalled the production of the certificates for the past few months.
Speaking after the visit, the CS the directorate had fixed the problem and restored the normal production process.
“I wanted the DCI to update me on that progress so that we can see if there is anything we can do in the recovery process. The report I got from DCI means that the process is back on track,” said Kindiki.
Although the system breakdown has been resolved, CS Kindiki agreed on a recovery plan to return normalcy in the provision of the critical document to Kenyans.
“However, based on the report, we may need to do a few other things to be able to catch up with the demand and bring things to normal.
Because even as we try to clear the backlog, there are new applicants on the system” explained Kindiki.
Further, Kindiki asked the DCI to upgrade the system to a more efficient one to speed up service delivery.
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“We must solve this problem, however difficult it is because if we lose this standing it will be very difficult correct it,” stated the CS.
Additionally, Kindiki noted that Kenyans are running out of patience with the long wait even though DCI is not to blame for the system failure.
Also, the CS promised to plan more elaborate visits to the DCI headquarters so that he understands the department.
This allows the Interior Ministry to know the kind of support or facilitation needed by the department to improve service delivery.
“We will be able to note the support you may need from my office at policy levels or other things that require a bit of push like budget issues just to make sure you continue delivering this critical service to Kenyans,” said the interior boss.
According to reports, there are over ten thousand certificate applications pending.
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Kindiki visit came after resumption
On Thursday, September 7, DCI announced the resumption of police clearance service.
In a statement DCI explained that it had resolved the technical hitches that slow down the process and has laid plans to clear the backlog.
Further, DCI stated that it went back to manual processing of the certificates during the breakdown.
“We highly regret the delays experienced over the period, and assure our clients of enhanced and expeditious services,” the statement reads in part.
Further, DCI urged applicants sending their application forms online to ensure that their ID copies attached to the forms are well duplicated.
