New Charges For National Ids, Kenyans To Get New IDs in 21 Days
PS Bitok has announced that Kenyans seeking new IDs will get them in 21 days as government adopts 24-hour printing drive.
This comes after the organization in charge of the procedure purchased a new ID card printer and decided to implement a 24-hour plan in order to expedite the processing of new applications and, among other things, eliminate the existing backlog.
To increase the National Registration Bureau’s capacity, the government purchased a new printer, according to Immigration and Citizenship Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok.
He said that in addition to removing the backlog brought on by a court order regarding Maisha Card last year, the new machinery will satisfy the growing need for duplicate and new IDs.
According to Bitok, a court case is among the reasons why the up to 400,000 cards that have been waiting to be printed during the past few months.
“By February of this year, the court vacated the order, and we began addressing the backlog of 400,000 IDs.
We have been working day and night to alleviate backlog concerns,” he stated.
Speaking at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Building’s NRB ID printing center in Nairobi, the PS stated that the new setup and capability will guarantee that new applications are completed within 21 days.
According to our service charter, “everyone applying for an ID should be able to get it within 21 days.”
A court had ordered the suspension of ID card printing in November 2023, but the restrictions were revoked in February of this year.
More than 600,000 additional IDs have been printed since then, according to Bitok.
Against the present daily demand of 8000 new IDs and nearly the same amount for duplicates, the current printer can print only 700 IDs.
Nonetheless, seasonal variations in the demand are possible due to the national recruitment drives and the school calendar.
“This is the busiest time of year for people to leave school and get their IDs in order to become adults.
Bitok stated, “We are going to increase our efficiency by adding a new machine that will create an additional 25,000–30,000 per day.
Kenyans who reside in remote counties won’t be forgotten; their IDs will be processed right away.
Bitok stated, “Everyone who lives in remote counties like Turkana and Mandera should be able to get their IDs within 30 days.”
Bitok added that the government intends for all Kenyans to completely switch to the Maisha Digital ID within three years.
The identification card issue has caused difficulties for candidates since it has an impact on numerous procedures.
For example, in order to apply to and enroll in different educational institutions, students require the documentation.
Kenyans are much relieved by the machine’s purchase and the promises to print the documents in three weeks.
