Baringo: The government has enlisted chiefs and assistant chiefs in Baringo County to spearhead the registration of over 100,000 unregistered residents in an upcoming intensive mobile civil registration exercise. Principal Secretary for the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services, Dr. Belio Kipsang, emphasized the importance of this initiative in ensuring that residents without national identification documents can access critical government services.
According to Kenya News Agency, Dr. Kipsang, speaking at the Kenya School of Government (KSG), Baringo Campus, during a sensitisation forum for National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs), urged chiefs and assistant chiefs to identify and mobilise residents who are yet to acquire national identity cards and other vital documents. He described identification documents as a gateway to numerous government programmes and services, including affordable housing, healthcare, and youth empowerment initiatives.
The department aims to register more than 100,000 people during the upcoming mobile registration drive, focusing on remote and marginalised areas such as Tiaty, lower Baringo North and South, and Mogotio Constituency. Dr. Kipsang highlighted the critical role of administration officers in reaching disadvantaged and undocumented individuals at the grassroots level.
Dr. Kipsang attributed the high number of unregistered residents in Baringo County to its vast geographical size and inadequate sensitisation, a gap the government is addressing by involving all stakeholders, including village elders and nyumba kumi leaders. He challenged the county’s 392 chiefs and assistant chiefs to each register at least 1,000 people to help achieve the overall target, revealing that the best-performing administrators would be recognised and rewarded for their efforts.
The government is also working on strengthening civil registration offices across all 30 wards in the county to enhance efficiency and sustain registration efforts beyond the mobile exercise. Dr. Kipsang reiterated the importance of civil registration, noting that it enables residents to access key government services such as the Affordable Housing Programme, Social Health Authority (SHA) medical cover, and the NYOTA youth programme.
Accompanied by Acting National Registration Bureau (NRB) Secretary Gilbert Kitiyo, Baringo County Commissioner Stephen Kutwa, and other senior officials from the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services, Dr. Kipsang emphasized that without identification, citizens are locked out of opportunities meant to improve their livelihoods. County and national administrators present pledged to work closely with communities to ensure the registration drive achieves its intended impact.
