Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has responded to requests by members of the public to extend the deadline for the registration of Huduma Namba.
Speaking during a press conference in Nairobi on Monday, Matiang'i declined to extend the registration period.
The only extension that Matiang'i announced was on the working hours of the registration clerks.
He directed the registration officials to start operating from 6am to 6pm until the May 18 deadline.
Matiang'i argued that the government was incurring the cost of paying Ksh 1000 per clerk per day and thus extending the deadline would mean spending more money, which had not been budgeted for.
The CS disclosed that over the last five weeks, 31 million Kenyans had registered against their target of 40 million.
The government has also sent kits to 54 missions worldwide to enable Kenyans in the diaspora to register.
Responding to queries about consequences of not registering for the NIIMS, he stated, "We don't want to force you to register just like we cannot force you to take a PIN number at KRA, but you are smart enough to know that if you are going to seek services, you need to get the services in a manner that is much more facilitative and faster."
He emphasised the importance of registering by explaining that the NIIMS will help consolidate a person's file in a digital system that will be easily retrieved when required.
"Getting services any other way is going to be unnecessarily bothersome and cumbersome for you but if that is what you prefer... to be making trips to an office five or six times because no one can guarantee you they are going to get your documents in a day or two or three, that is also a choice for you to make," the CS advised.
