State clears 609,805 passport backlog

From left: Police DIG Gilbert Masengeli , Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Interior PS Raymond Omollo arrive for a security briefing at Harambee House, Nairobi, on December 19, 2024. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has announced the successful clearance of 609,805 passport backlog.

Mudavadi attributed the clearance to investment in two modern printers, capable of processing 500 passports per hour, alongside the procurement of one million passport booklets.

He further explained that this progress was made possible through the recruitment of 300 Immigration officers and upgrades to physical facilities, which have alleviated pressure on citizens awaiting their travel documents.

In addition, Mudavadi highlighted that the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services had opened two new offices in Kericho and Bungoma in 2024, in a bid to bring services closer to the public and ease pressure on staff.

"To encourage the uptake of job opportunities arising out of the government's efforts to secure foreign jobs for its citizens, the Directorate also set up special desks to hasten the issuance of passports," said Mudavadi.

The acting Interior Cabinet Secretary also announced that the National Registration Bureau (NRB) had invested in two new printers and live capture units to replace manual processes.

As a result, the agency has printed 1,778,773 ID cards, clearing a backlog of more than 600,000 national ID applications.

"The agency also extended the registration of first-time ID card applications to around 900,000 Form Four students who are eligible to prepare them for transition to tertiary institutions and opened 54 new grassroots offices," said the PCS.

To further enhance access to government services, Mudavadi revealed that 22,000 services have been integrated into the e-Citizen platform, which now has 13 million registered users, with more than 375,000 Kenyans visiting the platform daily.

He said that the consolidation of over 1,130 pay bills into a single payment system for all government services has resulted in a daily collection of approximately Sh900 million.

"At the Civil Registration Services (CRS), 35 new offices were opened and the Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) system was successfully deployed in Nairobi and Huduma Centers, digitising over 16 million records," said the PCS.

Following the introduction of a visa-free regime in Kenya, Mudavadi said there has been 1,465,560 Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) applications introduced and approved.