2 million Kenyans to get ID cards this year

Written By:KBC Reporter,    Posted: Mon, Aug 15, 2011

Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang revealed that second generation ID cards made of plastic will be issued, as the process of phasing out the current ones commences Young people without identity cards have a reason to smile as they will soon be able to get the document. Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang launched the resumption of production of ID cards on Monday at the National Registration Bureau (NRB). In the last two weeks, 150,000 cards have been processed. The NRB had temporarily halted the registration and production of National IDs since July 2010 because of bottlenecks of the procurement of materials. But Monday's launch brings relief to up to 2 million Kenyans, mainly youth, who would have otherwise been locked out of voting in the coming Presidential polls. Kajwang said 650,000 applications for IDs from last year await processing, which he said will be cleared in about 4 months. Treasury allocated 183 million shillings for the process and has been requested to allocate more funds so as to produce 2 million ID cards this year. The money has already been disbursed to district registrars awaiting the processing task. Two more production machines have also been procured, in preparation of the third generation smart cards. Currently 25,000 cards are produced per day. Kajwanga revealed that second generation ID cards made of plastic will be issued, as the process of phasing out the current ones commences. The department is also set to launch the issuance of ID cards for Kenyans in the diaspora in Washington and London by the end of August. Without an ID card, one cannot transact business, get a job, travel outside the country, join college, access government office and entertainment spots or acquire other critical documents like passports.