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Kenya: Technology Eases Quest for IDs
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The Nation (Nairobi)
13 May 2008
Posted to the web 13 May 2008
Carolyne Agosa
Nairobi
Forty thousand Kenyans can now have their identification cards (IDs) in one day compared to 5,000 previously, the director of national registration has said.
The number is set to increase with the acquisition of new technology to produce the proposed third generation cards, Mr Reuben Kimotho said.
"The 13-year-old IDs that we have today are expensive to produce," he said, adding: "The raw materials are scarce and the technology is almost obsolete."
The department, under the Ministry of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons, has requested for more funds to acquire new machinery, programmes and materials that will ensure the third generation IDs are more secure.
It will use digital technology to add security features to the modern ID that will make it usable by other key organisations such as banks and work institutions.
Currently, the department uses a system that cross-checks an applicant's fingerprints against over 20 million others in the data centre.
The funds will also be used for mobile registration in remote areas and to hasten the replacement of identity cards for internally displaced people.
Addressing journalists in his office at NSSF Building, the director asked the media to help in establishing what Kenyans feel about the use of surnames in their IDs, following the violence that gripped the nation recently.
"We are preparing a new Registration Act and we ask that you help us get the views of the public concerning the ethnic connotation in the surnames used in the ID," he said.
In the same breadth, the department has abolished the use of grandparents' identification cards or title deeds when applying for an ID.
Integrated system
Once an applicant has correctly filled out the application form, said Mr Kimotho, they wait for a period of 30 to 40 days to get their identity cards.
Applicants can now enquire about the status of their IDs from the ministry's website, and place any complaints at the customer care desk at their offices countrywide.
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The ministry is also seeking to create an integrated population registration system that will link up similar departments of registration under one database.
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