Government to register all Kenyans afresh in digital database

The Government will register all Kenyans afresh in a new national digital database.

The registration aims at addressing security issues as well as assist in national planning.

It will also assist the government in identifying persons with forged or fake identification documents.

The database will contain biometric details of all persons, land, establishments and assets.

The Ministries of Information, Communication and Technology and Interior and Coordination of National Government will spearhead the registration.

Deputy President William Ruto has said that there were gaps in the different registers currently being held by the government.

“In order to address the prevailing security challenges, we intend to consolidate all current registers of persons into a single national register with accurate and relevant information,” Mr Ruto said.

MISSING LINKS

He said there were missing links in birth registration, Personal Identification Number, Public Service Commission, National Social Security Fund and National Hospital Insurance Fund registers and voter registration, among others.

He spoke when he met commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to seek their input on how best the government could register all Kenyans.

He said the government decided to consult the IEBC because it has the technical expertise on registration matters since it used biometric voter listing in the run-up to the 2013 General Elections.

The Commission chairman Issack Hassan welcome d the proposed registration saying it is an important undertaking that will make the work of IEBC easier and also help to cut costs.

“With an accurate and credible database an electoral commission will not need to conduct a parallel voter registration as it can draw information from the national database,” Mr Hassan said.

The IEBC chairman said digital registration was the practice in developed democracies.

GUIDE IN PLANNING

ICT Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said the new register will guide the government in planning as well as help the IEBC in planning future elections since there will be readily available information.

“This is your know-your-citizen-campaign that will help us develop a reliable master database that will assist in national planning and security,” Mr Matiang’i said.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku said registration of persons was an important component in tackling security challenges.

“We must know who is a Kenyan and who is not. We can only do this from a credible digital database,” Mr Lenku said.

A technical team from the two ministries is working out modalities of rolling out the registration programme.

It is anticipated the registration will take a period of up to six months once the government puts the required infrastructure in place.