Address fears on Huduma Namba drive
What you need to know:
Whichever way you look at this Huduma Namba situation, it’s nothing but an ambitious innovation whose timing is off and is Sh6 billion too costly.
There’s no practical way in which registering for it guarantees better services when these very services still face a myriad of challenges.
In the end, it is the majority poor who will be left with a fancy card which accesses nothing but space in their hands.
Majority of Kenyans refusing to register for the Huduma Namba have been raising pertinent questions which haven't been conclusively answered. A key issue is data protection, which cannot be ignored after the bungling of the 2017 elections, plus the obvious implications of data harvesting and possible manipulation. Every one giving out details has a right to know how safe the information is and the specific measures being taken to ensure privacy.
SERVICE DELIVERY
That said, it is upsetting to hear threats by officials against those resisting to register, ranging from denial of passports to switching off of their mobile phone lines.
In theory, the registration that involves collecting biometric data to generate a unique Huduma Namba, is a wonderful idea.
Unfortunately, instead of addressing concerns about these gaps raised by Kenyans, various threats are being issued even after the very matter of data security was taken to court and the entire registration process declared voluntary. Disregard of court orders is a fundamental failure of leadership.
Then there’s the deceit around accessing government services. The system tasked with service provision has been intentionally manipulated to favour those with status access. Because of this, whether Kenyans register for the Huduma Namba, not much will change. Registering for a number is not a solution to weed out brokers, bribery, nepotism and zero sense of accountability that directly hinder service delivery.
For example, applying for a birth certificate is a complete marathon with months of waiting, even though it should be a straight forward process. The same goes for passport applications that take months upon completion with a tedious process. Yet miraculously these are some of the services that the Huduma Namba will make easy. The big question remains not just about access but how efficient services will be delivered and how acquiring a unique number will make this possible within a structure that's broken.
FANCY CARD
Whichever way you look at this Huduma Namba situation, it’s nothing but an ambitious innovation whose timing is off and is Sh6 billion too costly. There’s no practical way in which registering for it guarantees better services when these very services still face a myriad of challenges. So no, the Kenyans resisting Huduma Namba aren't doing so because it’s trendy to be against government initiatives but because there’s no clarity on how this directly betters services.
We all want functional public services that are easy to access, affordable and efficient. This cannot happen within the current system. In the end, it is the majority poor who will be left with a fancy card which accesses nothing but space in their hands while the dysfunction within governmental agencies continues.
There’s a saying that good things sell themselves. That’s what the Huduma Namba should’ve been — something that gains support from Kenyans without threats.
The writer is a policy analyst; [email protected]
