Kenya to spend Sh8 billion on digital platforms to stem insecurity

By FRANKLINE SUNDAY and FELIX OLICK

NAIROBI: Kenya is banking on technology to stem runaway insecurity.

The Government intends to spend Sh8 billion to register Kenyans aged 12 years and above for the next six months to create Kenya’s first ever national digital registry.

The new move, which will see a national biometric registration drive kick off in the next two months, is expected to last six months. The database will capture details such as birth records and asset holdings.

“We have money that has been budgeted for this process and it will be implemented in three phases. The first one which will begin in June,” said Joseph Tiapati, the Principal Secretary for Information and Communication.

“The registries that we have had over the past have been unreliable and we do not have a comprehensive registry of births as it is for people under 17 years which is a big chunk of the country’s population,” he said.

While Kenya has tried unsuccessfully to develop a digital registry through various ministries and departments over the past five years, the Government is optimistic that this time the process will be fruitful.     

The ambitious project is being carried out by an inter-ministerial task force led by the ministry of Information, Communication and Technology. Others include custodian ministries of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Registration of Persons and Lands.

REFERENCE POINT

Once completed, the database is expected to provide a reference point that will be used by Government ministries and the private sector alike to create solutions to existing needs.

The project is being run by the Government although support services will be outsourced to service providers in the private sector.

Kenyans aged 12 years and above will give their birth details including place of birth, unique biological identifiers, retinal scans and fingerprints.

Older citizens will be required to give details about their assets holdings, including land and social security and national insurance details.

Meanwhile, the Government’s plan to issue new identification cards has sparked off a fresh storm with the opposition alleging it was a scheme to rob the taxpayers.

ODM MPs raised the red flag Tuesday pointing out that there was no budgetary allocation for the multi-billion project planned for the next three months.

The MPs, who included Taita Taveta Woman Representative Joyce Lay and her Busia counterpart Florence Mutua, maintained that the electoral commission did not have any role in registration of persons.

Speaking at Orange House Tuesday, the three legislators maintained that was no consultation with either the National Assembly or the Senate and rubbished the statement by Deputy President William Ruto as a “roadside proclamation”.