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Tag: Immigration PS Julius Bitok

  • eCitizen is fully owned by Government- Ps Bitok

    eCitizen is fully owned by Government- Ps Bitok

    The Government has assured MPs that it wholly owns the eCitizen online services access and pay platform.

    Immigration and Citizen Services PS Julius Bitok told the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security that the Government also has custody of the relevant documentation confirming the ownership.

    The PS informed the committee led by Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo that the government had nothing to conceal regarding eCitizen ownership and the contracts it had signed with vendors to support the platform’s technical operations and maintenance.

    “I can confirm that there exists a valid contract, approved by the Attorney General and signed with the ICT Authority (ICTA), where eCitizen was domiciled before its transfer to the current State Department. This contract affirms that eCitizen is fully owned by the Government,” the PS stated.

    He explained that the eCitizen operational model was a ‘tripartite arrangement’, with his Department responsible for onboarding services, while ICTA and the National Treasury, through the Government Digital Payments (GDP), managed the operating platform and revenue collection respectively.

    The PS said the contract captured details of how exactly the Ksh50 convenience fee paid for each eCitizen transaction. He was responding to Lari MP Joseph Kahangara’s question on how the amount was spent.

    Regarding the Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) system that replaced entry visas to Kenya, the PS told MPs that the government will rely on the guidance of security agencies in the relevant procurement process due to national security considerations.

    He revealed that following President William Ruto’s declaration of Kenya as a visa-free country last year, the number of visitors had increased by 20 percent compared to 2023.

    The PS was accompanied by the eCitizen Director General Isaac Ochieng and his Immigration counterpart, Evelyn Cheluget, among other senior officials.

  • Tiaty gets its first births and deaths certificates office

    Tiaty gets its first births and deaths certificates office

    The Government has opened a new office to register births and deaths in the expansive Tiaty constituency in Baringo County.

    Immigration PS Julius Bitok said the Civil Registration Services office located at Chemolingot shopping centre will offer respite to residents who have been travelling long distances to Kabarnet town to obtain the same services.

    The new station is expected to raise the percentage of registered births among the predominantly pastoral residents with many children currently unregistered due to challenges associated with distant registration centres, harsh terrain and insecurity.

    “We know some residents have been covering nearly 300 kms to travel to Kabarnet and this has been at huge time and financial cost. We want to bring this to an end so that we can have birth certificates obtained as soon as possible and at affordable costs,” the PS said.

    He announced that a mobile registration drive for National ID cards targeting late registration will be conducted in Tiaty for the many eligible residents who are yet to obtain the document.

    Chemolingot is the fifth CRS office in Baringo County which has an estimated population of 900,000 and has six constituencies. Besides Kabarnet, the other offices are in Mogotio, Ravine and Kabartonjo. Tiaty MP William Kamket and other local leaders blamed the long distances to government offices for the low levels of registered births and deaths in the constituency.

    “The journey from Kolowa to Kabarnet is around 300 km, and there are no roads. It costs Ksh 3,000 one way. You have to sell a goat or something else toget the money. It takes more than a day, so you have to factor in food and accommodation too,” Kamket said.

    The leaders claimed the constituency was missing out on its fair share of population-based national government resources especially in the education sector, CDF and other funds.

    “If you go to our primary schools for instance, you will find only around 200 learners are registered with the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) yet the school has a population of over 700,” said Baringo County Woman representative Jematiah Sergon .

    The same challenges were attributed to the low number of registered voters in the community.

    According to IEBC records, there are 39,059 registered voters in Tiaty but leaders belive the number of eligible voters is much higher Other leaders present were Baringo North MP Joseph Makilap, West Pokot Woman representative Rael Aleutum, Keses MP Julius Ruto, CRS boss Paul Mwangemi and his NRB counterpart Christopher Wanjau among others.

  • New Kuresoi registration office eases access to birth, death certificates

    New Kuresoi registration office eases access to birth, death certificates

    The government has encouraged residents of Kuresoi in Nakuru County to use the newly opened births and deaths registration office to avoid incurring higher fees for late applications for these vital documents.

    Immigration PS Julius Bitok announced that the new Civil Registration Services office in Kuresoi town—now the seventh in Nakuru County—aims to improve registration rates, which currently stand at 85 per cent for births and 54 per cent for deaths.

    The office will offer same-day service, providing residents with a much-needed reprieve from the long distances they previously had to travel to obtain birth and death certificates for their loved ones.

    “Some of you have shared that obtaining birth certificates has led you to limit the number of children you have,” said Bitok.

    “With this new office, you can reconsider your decisions. There will be no need to travel to Molo, Nakuru, or even Bomet.”

    The registration fee for births and deaths within six months of the event is Ksh 200. After six months, the fee increases to Ksh 500 for belated registration.

    Bitok also mentioned that Kuresoi is the 164th CRS office in the country, and the government plans to open 100 additional offices to ease access to registration services and meet the growing demand for birth and death certificates.

    He highlighted the importance of birth registration, noting that it is crucial for access to education, issuance of identification documents, and citizenship determination.

    Accurate birth registration statistics are vital for government planning and resource allocation.

    Death registration, on the other hand, supports family and corporate succession and provides more accurate demographic data, which can inform policies on health, sanitation, diet, and other lifestyle interventions.

    “A birth certificate is a critical identity document. Without it, a child cannot access government services such as school enrollment. Without it, the government does not recognize you, and you are not factored into CDF and other public funds allocations,” Bitok emphasized.

    Although birth and death registration is compulsory in Kenya, the national average is 76 per cent for births and 45 per cent for deaths, with some counties reporting figures as low as 30 per cent.

    Bitok also praised effective birth registration as essential for the successful rollout of the Maisha Namba and Maisha card programs.

    The number on the birth certificate will serve as the Maisha Namba, a lifelong number that will transition to the ID number on the Maisha card.

    This number will be used to access government services, including health and education.

    He urged residents to register for the Maisha Card and advised those who have already applied to promptly collect their cards from registration stations, highlighting the card’s advanced features that enhance access to government services.

    Kuresoi South MP Joseph Tonui acknowledged that the new registration office will greatly benefit residents who previously faced challenges in obtaining birth and death certificates.

    Also present were Nakuru County Woman Representative Liz Chelule, Kuresoi North MP Alfred Mutai, and other local leaders.

  • MPs recommend three-day turnaround for passport applications

    MPs recommend three-day turnaround for passport applications

    Parliament has recommended that Kenyans applying for passports receive the travel document within three days of submitting their application.

    Through the National Assembly’s Committee on National Administration and Internal Security, MPs further urged the government to open more immigration offices across the country to make it easier to acquire passports.

    Currently, many applicants are forced to travel long and costly distances to access Nyayo House or any of the eight regional immigration offices.

    Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, who is also the chair of the Committee, stated that with adequate resources, targeting a maximum of three days for applicants to be issued passports is realistic, especially with the opening of more offices in other parts of the country.

    Mandera East MP Hussein Abdirahman commended the government for introducing reforms that have improved the efficiency of the Directorate of Immigration, noting that the long queues at Nyayo House have disappeared.

    The MPs spoke during the presentation of the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services’ budget estimates for the 2024/25 Financial Year and supplementary estimates for FY 2023/24.

    Immigration PS Julius Bitok revealed that the Department has been allocated Ksh 15.151 billion instead of the Ksh 15.873 billion requested in the Budget Policy Statement.

    Of this amount, Ksh 10.145 billion will be spent on the recurrent budget, while Ksh 5.091 billion will be committed to development projects.

    Under the second supplementary estimate for FY 2023/2024, the State Department’s revised budget was Ksh. 12.633 billion, with Ksh. 9.136 billion allocated to the recurrent budget.

    Prof. Bitok reported that the Department had successfully cleared a backlog of around 700,000 passports and invested heavily in equipment and technology using funds obtained as Appropriation-in-Aid from Immigration and other services.

    Reforms included creating two banking halls, buying two printers, and increasing personnel.

    He also highlighted the digitization of over 16,000 government services on eCitizen, the introduction of a visa-free entry regime in January, and the Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) that has processed over 500,000 visitors to Kenya.

    The PS appealed for more funding to roll out the newly introduced digital ID, the Maisha Card, and its supporting infrastructure, as well as the Shirika Plan, which proposes moving refugees out of camps by integrating them with host communities.

    Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and the PS have previously promised to introduce a seven-day maximum waiting time for passport applications.