ID crisis: 4 million face lockout in poll

Shrouded in controversy over allegations of corruption and sale of citizenship to undeserving foreigners, the issuance of IDs has been temporarily stopped. This means that millions of youth may not acquire the vital document in time to register for the General Election.. Photo/FILE 

By EMEKA-MAYAKA GEKARA, gmayaka@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, July 23  2011 at  21:57

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More than 4 million Kenyans — the majority of them youths — could be prevented from voting next year if the political infighting over a Sh12-billion tender for the production of national identity cards is not resolved soon.

The ministry of Immigration and Registration of Persons has not issued ID cards since July 2010 due to delays in awarding the tender.
Interviews by the Sunday Nation revealed that suspicion has shrouded operations at the key ministry whose mandate touches on critical security matters.

Ministry operations have turned into a tug-of-war between the minister Otieno Kajwang and his officers who, he seems to suggest, take instructions from elsewhere.

In addition to the much-awaited IDs contract, the ministry is the driver of other multi-million-shilling projects like e-passports, e-border management system and e-visa systems and mobile identity card registration, which are very attractive to those in a position to benefit financially from the transactions.

Without an ID, one cannot transact official business, get a job, travel outside the country, join college, access government offices and entertainment spots or acquire other critical documents like passports.

Mr Kajwang has said that because of the impasse the ministry might not register all Kenyans eligible to vote before the next General Election. He said suspicion, interference by a powerful elite and fears that the tender could be used to raise campaign funds for ODM in the election, have frustrated the awarding of contract for the production of third generation ID cards.

“The contract has attracted a lot of attention from powerful people in government. It has been derailed because some forces think that ODM wants to turn it into an Anglo Leasing and mint money for campaigns,” he told the Sunday Nation.

Naivasha MP John Mututho has said that issuance of IDs has been delayed because of interests of certain powerful individuals who were pushing for certain companies to be awarded the tender.

In May, Mr Kajwang’ told Parliament that the head of public service Mr Francis Muthaura was blocking the matter by not authorising his permanent secretary Emmanuel Kisombe and the director of Immigration to implement a Cabinet decision to re-advertise the tender. It was after this development that the ministry invited bids for third generation ID cards.

Mr Kajwang wrote to President Kibaki and Prime Raila Odinga on September 16, 2010, reporting a “deadlock” in his ministry and asked them to intervene and direct Mr Kisombe and the director of Immigration Services to follow the law and perform their duties.

The minister wrote a second letter on September 16 seeking an appointment with the President to make consultations on third generation identity cards, e-border management system and e-visa systems. He says he appointment was granted but cancelled at the last minute.

The minister also alleged that powerful politicians had tried to influence decisions on who should be awarded the contract.

Mr Kajwang said 800,000 applications for identity cards from last year await processing, and the Treasury has only allocated funds to produce 2 million IDs this year.

Issuing of ID cards was discontinued after the expiry of Teluse Security Ltd’s tender in June 2010, and attempts to migrate to the third generation system were derailed after the tender was cancelled.

Then, after protracted arguments, in May, a Cabinet sub-committee chaired by Mr Odinga flatly rejected any attempt to extend Tesule’s contract and insisted that tendering for the third generation IDs be completed by the end of August.

He said the feeling in Cabinet is that the company is charging exorbitant rates.
“Its contract should not be renewed because it has grudgingly benefited from two extensions before,” the minister said.

The Cabinet agreed to enter into the short contract with Teluse to produce only 2 million IDs.

“I am afraid I might not be able to give all deserving Kenyans IDs before the next election if I am restricted to the two million deal,” he said.

The minister pointed out that the majority of those affected will be youths who recently graduated from high school.

Results of the 2009 census show that young people constitute a core voting bloc that will determine who becomes the country’s next president. About 6 million Kenyans who were too young to vote in 2007 will have attained the voting age of 18 years by the next General Election. This group was between 13 and 17 during the last elections. Today, they are between 16 and 20.

The group includes 5.6 million potential voters. Given their numerical strength, this is a core group that politicians are expected to target in their campaigns.

Fight corruption

Youth Agenda chief executive Susan Kariuki yesterday asked Mr Kajwang to fight corruption in his ministry and urgently address the ID issue.

“The minister should give us solutions. By denying people IDs, he is already violating their constitutional rights.

The youth of this country are more frustrated and impatient by the day. It is such frustrations that result in Sonkoism,” she said, in apparent reference to the antics of Makadara MP Gidion Mbuvi alias Sonko.

Teluse has been printing identity cards since 1995 and owns all rights and artworks to the current identity cards. But, even after the award of the two-million ID deal in May, the company ran into new challenges.

The manufacturer of raw material of the current paper-based IDs had stopped producing it. It was then suggested the country adopt the plastic-based ID system.
The other challenge was to purchase a machine for the plastic IDs.

“It has taken long to procure the material and machine for the two million IDs but they have promised that they will start producing the IDs by mid next month,” said Mr Kajwang.
The minister thinks the August deadline would be impossible due to the elaborate tendering requirements.

The two million IDs, he reckons, would only soak up last year’s applications and probably half of the applicants for this year, replacements notwithstanding.

Mr Kajwang’ estimates that the country would register at least four million people before the next election. In a normal year, the minister says, the department registers two million people, and three million in an election year.

“Given the backlog from last year, this year and the upsurge expected next year because of elections, we expect to register about four million people in addition to replacement of lost IDs.” The ministry replaces an average of 500,000 IDs annually.

The Interim Independent Electoral Commission has announced it intends to enrol 19 million voters, but Mr Kajwang thinks that would not be possible unless the ID crisis is sorted out.
The minister says the experts had advised that the tendering, and issuance of the new IDs would take at least a year.

The ministry has already tendered for the third generation ID cards.

It will take 30 days to scrutinise tender documents, a similar duration for valuation, another month for the bidders to respond, a 21-day provision for appeal before the contracts can be awarded.

“Experts are saying it would require the winning bidder to mobilise resources, relocate and set up base here, design the IDs, set up stations across the country and roll out. This would take at least six months if all factors are constant,” the minister said.

“Once ready, it would take less than six weeks to a month to produce the two million IDs because we can produce 50,000 per day. After that we will have to wait for the third generation IDs whenever possible or renew the Teluse contract.”

New cards

The third generation card system will be electronic and plastic-based. The new cards will be equipped with a microchip containing the holder’s details and other enhanced security features. It is expected that the cards will make it hard for immigrants to enter the country illegally.

The current cards replaced the first post-independence cards in 1996.

Implementation of the new system will entail setting up an elaborate infrastructure supported by appropriate software, including installation of live data capture equipment both at the headquarters and in the field offices, personalisation centre and a centralised database production facility, complete with the biometric and facial recognition features.
Upon completion, the Third-Generation National ID Card System is expected to increase efficiency in the card issuance process by allowing for data transmission in real time.