Close to 16 African states studying Huduma Centre concept

Sicily Kariuki (second right) during the official opening of Huduma Centre in Kibera, Nairobi.

Huduma Kenya is slowly emerging as an ideal platform to address Africa’s poor public service delivery.

According Cabinet Secretary of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs Mrs Sicily Kariuki, the innovative approach taken by Kenya has seen delegations from 16 African countries keen on adopting Huduma Centre’s concept in their own countries.

Speaking after the opening of the Huduma Kenya Eastleigh Centre, Mrs Kariuki said countries that are studying Huduma operations are Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Mali, Swaziland, Uganda, Gambia, Rwanda, Togo, Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia.

Provision of digitised public service has won Huduma global awards, claiming the first price in each category.

It won the prestigious United Nations Public Service Award in the category of Improving the Delivery of Public Services last year.

Locally, the organisation has grown to 38 operational centres, which serve over 35,000 people per day and over nine million people served from inception two years ago to date.

While the latest revenue collection is awaited, total revenue collected through Huduma Centres as at June 2015 was over Sh12 billion from November 2013 when the programme started. The CS says Huduma Kenya’s contribution to the improvement of the Ease of Doing Business Index through the devolution of services has been remarkable.

She says high customer satisfaction from Huduma’s Electronic Customer Feedback Units stands at 95 per cent and the array services is comprehensive, from 35 to 45 – ranging from the registration of welfare groups and the search and registration of business names to assessment and payment of Stamp Duty; from issuance of duplicate ID cards and student loan applications to renewal of driving licences, from NHIF registration and claims to payment of rents and rates among others.