It is now clear that Kenyans will not receive their Huduma Namba cards this year after registering for the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS).
This is because, after the ongoing Huduma Namba mass registration is closed on May 18, the government will take more than six months to allocate citizens with the special number.
According to the State House Chief of Staff and Head of Presidential Delivery Unit Nzioka Waita, the government will use the period to clean up and verify the data which Kenyans are giving field officers.
"It will take at least 6 months to clean up and verify the data before Kenyans are allocated a Huduma Namba," Nzioka said.
Elsewhere, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i on Tuesday disclosed that more than 20 million people have already registered for Huduma Namba.
The CS made the announcement after visiting a registration centre in Nairobi where he expressed satisfaction with the work being done by registration assistants.
"I stopped to check on the progress of the registration for Huduma Namba at Rosslyn Heights and was impressed by the pace at which our officers are responding to the high turnout by the members of the public. Overall, we have surpassed the 20 million mark," Matiang'i tweeted.
The government has been encouraging more citizens to register for NIIMS arguing they will be able to access services with ease and also help the State in national planning.
"We are not doing the Huduma Namba for the sake of it. It’s being done for a number of reasons including improving government services to Kenyans," noted Waita.