Government takes Huduma centres to counties

The government has launched public awareness to popularise Huduma Centres in counties. The initiative – covering Meru, Embu, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Kajiado, Kericho, Kisii, Kisumu, Mombasa and Kwale – is aimed at educating residents on the services available at the centres to encourage them to use them.

About 90 percent of Kenyans live outside Nairobi, 68 percent of whom reside in the rural areas, according to the 2009 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Majority of these residents havet limited access to government services.

To bridge this gap, the government in November 2013 launched Huduma centres, a one stop shop providing 41 services of up to 18 ministries to increase service accessibility. 

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Since then it has rolled out 11 centres with a further 19 centres being opened in 2015 as part of a plan to have at least one centre in all 47 counties.  Huduma centres have led to more efficient service delivery such as the reduction of time taken to register and get a national ID, which has since been expedited to 18 days in Nairobi and 38 days in other areas.

The process of application and issuing of Kenyan passports has been made easier. This was only previously possible at seven main towns.  The awareness campaign is simultaneously being carried out in at least ten counties.

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