ICT Ministry to kicks off digital registration in September

Kenyans could as early as December acquire new identity cards (IDs) as the government moves fast-tracks the implementation of the mass bio-metric national registry under the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) beginning September.

Under the Interior ministry’s Ksh3 billion authorized project, the ministry of ICT will seek to create a digital database for the entire citizenry through the collection of personal identifiable data such as eye, ear and voice patterns.

The exercise will similarly introduce global positioning system (GPS) coordinates to the national registry of persons to enable the satellite tracking of individuals in additional to other geographical attributes such as individual’s land reference numbers, plot/house numbers.

The registry will however replace tribe and race identifiers with an individual’s county of birth or residence.

ICT cabinet secretary Joe Mucheru said the ministry is targeting to ease the provision of essential government services through the exercise by leveraging on existing and emerging technologies.

“We are registering every Kenyan biometrically to ensure government is aware of who it is serving to better the experience by fast-tracking processes and creating efficiency in operations,” Mr Mucheru said.

The ICT boss said he further expects the exercise to complement existing government records by acting as one stop shop to all personal enquiries during the provision of services to the members of public.

“By ensuring that everyone is on the digital registry, individuals will have access to crucial services no matter their geographical location countrywide a matter which has been difficult to this moment,” he added.

The exercise will serve to add rather than take away from other established government records including those held by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and the National Registration Bureau which is involved in conducting the national census.