Athi River assistant county commissioner has asked the national government to consider allocating more resources to the registrar of persons department in a bid to increase national identification cards issuance in the area.
Addressing journalists in his office on Monday, Phylip Lemalasia said the rate of the issuance was still low, below expected budget.
"We have to improve the rates at which new applicants turn up for national identification cards registration so as to increase the access," said Lemalasia.
Lemalasia said more efforts needed to be made in order to sensitise residents of Athi River on the importance of holding the document.
He said lack of resources was a limitation to effective delivery of offices charged with issuance of the document in the region, arguing offices had difficulties in reaching out to the community to sensitise and register residents who had attained ages of holding national identification cards.
Lemalasia lauded the political class from the entire eastern region for giving civic education on identification cards registration a priority.
He however said that other leaders at grass root levels especially members of county assembly from Athi River, should work together with the provincial administration by pulling resources towards public sensitisation and door to door national identification cards registration.
Lemalasia commended the Wiper Party leader for launching the identification cards sensitisation campaigns in the region in August this year but noted that there was laxity by the region's politicians to get involved in the initiative.
He called on youth to turn up in numbers so as to seek the document given that it is a legal requirement alongside being their constitutional right.