The National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) registration exercise was on Wednesday suspended in Kisumu County a day after it was launched country wide.
Reports indicate that the officials, who were supposed to carry out the exercise, failed to show up at assigned stations.
Local residents who turned up for the exercise were forced to return home after hours of waiting.
Kisumu County Commissioner Pauline Dola confirmed to a local media that the much anticipated exercise didn’t kick off as planned due to lack of crucial documents.
The officer, however, affirmed that the registration is expected to resume on Thursday after the necessary resources are availed.
In other counties the exercise began as scheduled.
To support the Huduma Namba, Machakos County government issued a memo to its staff on Wednesday warning that those who will not have registered by April 20, 2019, will not be paid.
“Please note that your May 2019 salary will not be released without your Huduma Number (Namba) having been submitted to the payroll office,” read the memo signed by Public Service and Quality Management Chief Officer Joseph Ochwada.
This however, is against a High Court order, delivered by a three-judge bench on April 1, 2019, that the government should not issue deadlines for the collection of National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) data or make the exercise mandatory.
The Huduma Namba mass registration exercise was officially launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday at Masii Public Grounds in Machakos County after the high court gave it a clean bill of health.
In the spirit of rooting for the exercise that has been overly described as crucial, opposition leader Raila Odinga launched the registration in Likoni Mombasa, while Musalia Mudavadi was in Kakamega. Former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka was in Murang’a, accompanied by Ford Kenya party leader Moses Wetangula.
During the launch, President Kenyatta directed the Ministry of Interior and Coordination to ensure every born or living Kenyan is registered in the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) within the next 45 days.
He said the exercise is vital as it will help integrate crucial government data in one database.
Read:Why DP William Ruto ‘Snubbed’ Huduma Namba Launch
Documents required during the registration include a valid Kenyan Identity card, passport, alien card or a birth certificate.
On data privacy, the president said the government is in the process of drafting a bill, which if approved by the National Assembly will regulate access to personal information.
“We are in a process of drafting a bill which shall restrict data sharing, and ensure the data is protected from unauthorized access,” President Kenyatta said.
He said those opposed to the exercise have ill-intentions.
The President disclosed damning revelations on what the government discovered during the digitization of the Police National Service (NPS) records.
According to him the government has been paying over 5000 ghost officers, losing Sh1.8 billion annually.
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