• Two senior officers at the Civil Registration department have been interdicted over corruption claims.
• Interior CS said the two had been greatly mentioned in corruption claims that has tainted the image of the department.
Two senior officers at the Civil Registration Bureau have been interdicted over corruption claims.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'í on Monday said the two had been greatly mentioned in corruption claims that have tainted the image of the department.
The CS and his Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho have been camping at the Department’s ACK Bishop House offices in Upper Hill since last week amid efforts to streamline service delivery.
Matiangi said their daily visits at the department follows numerous complaints from members of the public over delays in the issuance of birth certificates.
“We have been here since last week including the weekend to respond to the cries of Kenyans due to the delay in issuance of birth certificates,” Matiangi said.
He said the ministry will pitch a camp at the department until all envisioned changes in the issuance of birth and death certificates are implemented.
“Already, two senior officers at the CRB have been interdicted and investigations into the facilitation of corruption into the issuance of certificates are ongoing,” he said.
Matiangi added, “Corruption has no place in the Ministry of Interior and the Government. It will be dealt with accordingly. If you see any brokers outside these premises, they should be arrested immediately.”
As we promised, the Civil Registration Bureau's office at ACK Bishop House has undergone a complete makeover on all aspects. We now have customer care desks manned by NYS personnel, enough seats for members of the public, clean restrooms, and dignified services at the counters. pic.twitter.com/9JoYpVVrjF
— Dr. Fred Matiang'i (@FredMatiangi) October 28, 2019
While urging Kenyans to work with the Government to stamp out corruption the CS said the ministry is striving to adjust its capacity planning in the provision of citizen services as a matter of policy and in the best interest of all Kenyans.
He said the Government has already automated the registration of births and deaths.
However, the new system has been experiencing some technical glitches, which have significantly handicapped printing and issuance of certificates.
“ In response to this, we have contacted the PS in the Ministry of ICT, Jerome Ochieng, and asked him to immediately dispatch a team of experts to oversee the installation of a new system. “We need to upgrade the capacity of issuance and upgrade the application process with the aim of modernizing the CRB,” he said.
According to him, this will ensure an applicant takes the least amount of time to get their document.
Since the intervention of the CS and the PS, there have been significant changes at the CRB which include National Youth Service-manned desks, ample seating spaces, tidiness, clean restrooms, clearly labelled counters and dignified customer service.
Matiangi’s sentiments were echoed by Kibicho who said the customer care desk will come in handy since applicants will have assistance.
“We are also upgrading the infrastructure of this facility so that sorting and searching for ready certificates becomes much easier but in the long-term, citizens will be notified through an SMS notification when their documents are ready for collection. You’ll be seeing us here every day to ensure the smooth flow of operations,” Kibicho said.