CS Matiang’i in push to clean up births registry

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i (right) speaks with Prisons Commissioner Wycliffe Ogalo (left) and Nairobi Regional Commissioner Wilson Njenga at the Department of Civil Registration headquarters in Nairobi yesterday. [Collins Kweyu, Standard]

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i made his fourth visit to the Department of Civil Registration as he sought to push for changes to address claims of graft and existence of cartels in the issuance of birth certificates.

Dr Matiang’i first visited the offices on Thursday afternoon, before making follow-up visits on Friday and yesterday.

Yesterday, he made his first visit in the morning, before his Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho arrived separately an hour after he had left. Then at about 1.30pm, the CS and his team drove back to the offices in an impromptu visit that ensured those in the queue were served.

As ordered last week, personnel from the National Youth Service (NYS) were deployed and new machines installed, while more workers attended to those applying for birth certificates.

Brokers who have been hanging around outside the offices at Bishops Gardens in Nairobi were missing, and all counters were manned, unlike in the past when most were not operational.

The reception area also had seats for those waiting for service, unlike in the past when they stood in a hall.

The CS had ordered the staff at the department to work over the weekend and organise their desks for better service delivery. They were assisted by Prisons staff who repaired broken furniture and other utilities.

Department staff had name tags on as part of the efforts to keep brokers away.

Compulsory leave

Matiang’i told those present that the process of getting the documents at the offices would now be faster and smoother.

“This is your office and I am sorry for what you have been going through. We are determined to address the menace by deploying more sophisticated machines,” he said.

Two senior managers were last week sent on compulsory leave even as the CS ordered that complaints being registered in other offices in the country be addressed immediately. He said he was happy things were moving faster, but added that he did not need to make the visits to ensure work is done.

“Those applying for the documents should be able to get them within a week after receiving an SMS informing them that they are ready for collection,” Matiang’i said.

He said some Government employees were making a killing by deliberately making the systems inefficient to ensure those seeking services give out bribes.

There have been complaints that the department is among those affecting the delivery of services. Officials at the Immigration department have been complaining of receiving fake birth certificates that are issued by brokers operating outside the offices.

To address the menace, the department has been working with both public and private hospitals to issue birth certificates to parents at the institutions, and in the process address issues of corruption, inefficiency and service delivery. Civil registration officials have been camping at hospitals to register newborns and process their documentation within two weeks.