Mwala residents in Machakos County have urged the Senate and National Assembly to enact a law to streamline issuance of birth certificates at local administrative levels.
They said the documents should be issued at chiefs and assistant chiefs offices across the country.
According to them, this is in a bid of easing congestion and prevention of backlog at the registrars offices which get overcrowded by people waiting to be served.
Resident Boniface Kyengo said the region's registrar's office was faced with under staffing, a situation that cripples service delivery.
Kyengo addressed the press at Ngulini Market in Mwala on Sunday.
“We should acquire birth certificates from chiefs offices just the way we get death certificates from them," Kyengo said.
“The number of people at the registrar's offices waiting to be served is overwhelming. If this law is enacted, then it will be of help to everyone," Kyengo added.
However, the Machakos County civil registrar Ken Nyamweya on Saturday said late application of birth certificates has been cited as one of the avenues fueling corruption in the department of civil registration in Machakos County.
"The unscrupulous brokers are making a kill on unsuspecting members of public who come to apply for late certificates," Nyamweya said.
He said the culprits hang around the offices and the Machakos Law Courts pretending to be clients as they scout for would be customers.
Nyamweya said the brokers increase in numbers during beginning and end of the year as parents rush to get the vital document for their children for registration of KCPE and KCSE exams.
“We have been advising parents to get birth certificates for their children immediately after delivery to avoid falling prey to such trickery, we have even seen cases of people being duped and issued with fake certificates,” Nyamweya said.
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