Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, on Friday, January 10 announced the reduction of the waiting period for new passports.
In a story by Nairobi News, Matiangi made an impromptu visit at the Kisii Immigration and Civil Registration offices and communicated the willingness of the government to ease the process of acquiring crucial ID and travel documents.
“There is no excuse why there should be delays in getting such vital documents.
“Just like how we have reduced delays in getting birth and death certificates, we will ensure we get to the policy of same-day service for the issuance of passports," remarked Matiang’i.
The CS also expressed contentment with the births and deaths registration offices, lauding the government officials for speedy issuance of the documents.
Matiang’i also indicated that the same-day service policy introduced by the government had led to the reduction of complaints.
“We do not want long queues and brokers in these offices. We will streamline delivery of services and we'll not condone nonsense,” warned Matiang’i.
In October 2019, the CS sacked two senior employees at the Department of Civil Registration in an impromptu visit aimed at cracking corruption cartels who mastermind illegal issuance of birth certificates.
Matiang’i also issued orders for the immediate arrest of corrupt brokers behind the collusion at Bishop’s House, where the department is based.
“People should be coming in and immediately, they should have someone verify that all their documents are in order.
"After that, they should hand in their documents, get a ticket and go home. After about a week, they should get an SMS telling them that their certificate is ready to be collected,” remarked Matiang’i.
He also called for the clear identification of registry officials where he claimed that fake officials had increased at government offices.
"Every employee of this place will have a badge with their name and their position here. I do not know how you will do it, but it has to be done.
“If anyone comes here purporting to work here with no identification, they will be arrested,” Matiang’i directed.
