Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo JR calls for mobile Huduma centres to reach more residents

Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr has called for more programmes on huduma mashinani under Huduma Kenya to enable communities access vital documents such as national identity cards.

Mr Kilonzo Jr said that buildings from where Huduma Kenya services are offered are not enough to cater for people.

“We need to have mobile huduma centres, because the buildings are not sufficient, Makueni is 8,000 square kilometres and Kitui is 30,000 square kilometres, even if you build five centres, they will not be sufficient,” said Mr Kilonzo Jr.

Speaking on the sidelines of Huduma Kenya centre managers third annual conference at Mombasa beach hotel, Mr Kilonzo Jr said there is need to seek partnerships to ensure people receive services at grassroot level.

Mr Kilonzo Jr said that no citizen ought to make a decision on whether to get crucial documents such as identity cards and birth certificates or buy food and other necessities due to costs associated with accessing public services.

“That sought of election should not happen when we in government offices must make sure the services and documents are available to citizens,” said Mr Kilonzo Jr.

Mr Kilonzo Jr said that huduma mashinani programmes has enabled people to access documents such as identity cards.

“Ordinary people do not want to go to government offices to get the services, it is either they are being asked for money or told to go back, it is very costly for them,” said Mr Kilonzo Jr.

He also noted that bureaucracy has become an inhibition to people accessing ordinary services like getting national identity cards.

The Makueni Governor further said that he will plead with the Council of Governors (CoG) to ensure that birth certificates are issued free of charge.

“If national identity cards are free, birth certificates should also be free, why charge a child just because they have been born as Kenyan?” posed Mr Kilonzo Jr.

He also said that he will engage the CoG  to find ways of setting aside money to facilitate issuance of the documents to people.

Mr Kilonzo Jr noted that people are being told to go and register but when they visit chiefs’ offices, they are asked questions such as who their parents are when ideally at 18 years, a person has gone to school and the government officers ought to know.

“We have pleaded with the National Registration Bureau to reduce the number of documents they are asking for, including baptismal certificates and many things a 40-year-old will not know where to get,” said Mr Kilonzo Jr.

The Makueni Governor also said there is a contradiction that people will talk about a country that is digital, leading in products such as mobile money transfers, yet services which ideally will be easy to find are the most treacherous to get for an ordinary person.

Mr Kilonzo Jr said the problem is mainly affecting women, youths and persons living with disability.

The county government of Makueni collaborated with Huduma Kenya to offer several services to the residents through the huduma mashinani initiatives.

Huduma Kenya Chief Executive Officer Ben Kai Chilumo said the centre managers conference aims to discuss issues among them collaboration with partners to enhance service delivery to people across the country.

“Collaborations are very important to be able to realize high service delivery,” said Mr Chilumo.

Mr Chilumo said Huduma Kenya centres managers ought to start collaborating with governors in various counties to ensure they serve communities.

He noted that most Huduma Kenya centres are in county headquarters which are vast forcing people to spend money to access services.

The Huduma Kenya CEO further said that in their collaboration with Makueni county government, they visited over thirty areas and were able to serve over 77,000 residents where many documents among them birth certificates, identity cards and certificates of good conduct were processed.