Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i on Monday said that the government will not extend the deadline for registering for Huduma Namba. However, the CS said that after the deadline the registration kits will be handed to the assistant chiefs where anyone who will not have registered can do so.
Dr Matiang’i said that the exercise has been a success so far with 31 million Kenyans registering on the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) to obtain the Huduma Namba as of Monday. He said this on a press briefing on Monday about the progress of the Huduma Namba registration exercise.
Even though the registrations kit will be transferred to assistant chiefs’ offices, the CS did not guarantee that the assistant chiefs will do the registration.
“If for some reason someone misses out they may go to the assistant chief. The focus of the assistant chief at the moment is on registration but I am very afraid that after that there are very many things the assistant chiefs will focus on,” said Matiang’i.
He insisted that the government will not extend the period given for Huduma Namba mass registration. He encouraged Kenyans who have not yet registered to do so before the deadline but still insisted that registering is still voluntary. He further said that during the final week, the operating hours will be extended to run from 6 am to 6 pm.
“This phase of registration ends on May 18 and we have no plans to extend this registration exercise at all,” he said, “We don’t want to force you to register, just like we cannot force you to take a KRA pin number… We have come to a regime where we want a Huduma Namba so that when you go to the Huduma Centre, your details can be accessed very easily.”
He added: “But we are advising people in a very diplomatic way, get a Huduma Namba because it costs you nothing and its been done by your government using your tax resources. Why would you want to argue about a straight forward matter.”
Many have asked the government to extend the period for mass registration.
Matiang’i and his ICT counterpart Joe Mucheru warned that even though the registration is optional in line with the High Court order, those who do not register will have problems accessing government services.
“Those who will not have registered might have issues with things such as tracing physical documents so that they are served,” they said.
The services include registration of birth certificates, land registration, replacement of lost exam certificates, civil marriages, getting initial identification cards and issuance of single business permits.
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Others are issuance of death certificates, claims for pensions, filing tax return, application for title deeds and applying and renewal of government documents.
I don’t have a huduma number.how can I get it