Members of Parliament have announced plans to revoke regulations that would raise the cost of acquiring and replacing identity cards, and birth and death registration documents, citing issues of public participation and multiple errors within the proposals.
This would be a huge win for Kenyans seeking the mandatory documents. The Ministry of Interior had proposed to prescribe a charge of Ksh300 for applying for a new Identity Card, up from a previous Ksh100, which had been reduced from Ksh300, and then waived it under the administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Additionally, the rules suggest a Ksh1,000 charge for duplicating or replacing an ID, altering ID details, obtaining identification reports, and issuing civil servants’ cards and staff badges.
Under the Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) rules a Ksh1,000 fee for the registration or re-registration of births and for making corrections to birth or death entries, which were previously free of charge.
A charge of Ksh500 is also proposed for registering a birth or death after six months and Ksh200 for certificates of birth or death.
However, the Delegated Legislation Committee of the National Assembly, chaired by Samuel Chepkong’a, has directed the government to revoke the proposals, arguing that there are too many substantive errors in the regulations that mere corrections can’t change.
The decision came after the committee summoned the Immigration Principal Secretary, Julius Bitok, to explain the new rules and why they are necessary.
While addressing the MPs, Bitok defended the proposals, saying that the costs have remained unchanged for 36 years, despite the prices of materials increasing with inflation.
“These fees are being revised 36 years down the line, from 1998 up to now, and inflation is currently more than ten times. We proposed to increase it to 200 because of the inflation and cost of material,” Bitok stated.
However, Chepkong’a told Bitok that the regulations would need to be republished due to their current deficiencies.
“We may consider revoking these regulations. There are far too many errors,” Chepkong’a stated, adding that the document presented to the committee, which purported to show public participation, was insufficient.
The summons were necessitated by complaints from committee members who described the regulations as punitive.
Chepkong’a informed PS Bitok that the Maisha Namba, a unique 14-digit personal identifier the government plans to introduce, was not included in the regulations.
This unique identifier, assigned at birth, will consolidate various identification numbers, such as Identity Card numbers, Social Health Authority (SHA) PINs, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Personal Identification Numbers, and birth certificates, into a unified system.
However, committee members Lenguris Pauline (Samburu County Woman MP), Komingoi Kirui (Bureti), and Charles Mamwacha (Bonchari) protested the proposed fee hikes, saying that it would further bog down the already overtaxed Kenyans.
