Obtaining documents at the civil registration office in Upperhill will now be a walk in the park for citizens, after Interior CS Fred Matiang’i made true his threat, to overhaul operations at the centre.
The Headquarters, which thousands of Kenyans frequent in search of documents such as birth certificates, is one of the most dreaded government centres, in terms of poor customer service, heavy bureaucracy, and slow turnaround.
On Thursday, Matiang’i made an impromptu visit to the ACK Bishops House outlet only to find hundreds of Kenyans languishing in snaking queues, with the office lacking the basic courtesy of providing enough seats in the waiting area.
Kenyans deserve unconditional citizen services wherever they are in the country. We will shake the Department of Civil Registration to its bone-marrow in addressing concerns raised regarding issuance of birth certificates. pic.twitter.com/9G9pR6khQx
— Dr. Fred Matiang'i (@FredMatiangi) October 25, 2019
To the delight of the frustrated citizens, Matiang’i vowed to immediately remedy the situation, with the promise of installing an ICT system to automate operations, among other changes.
“As we progressively adjust our capacity planning in provision of citizen services, we’ve begun installing a new system at Civil Registration offices at ACK Bishop House to facilitate issuance of birth certificates,” Matiang’i said.
The stern CS also vowed to kick out non-performing staff and replace them with the energetic National Youth Service.
” No member of our staff will be spared for dereliction of duty,” he angrily warned.
True to Matiangi’s threats, by Tuesday, NYS officers had taken over customer service desks and the centre was unusually orderly, with citizens waiting to be attended in the refurbished waiting area, fully packed with seats.
As we promised, the Civil Registration Bureau's office at ACK Bishop House has undergone a complete makeover on all aspects. We now have customer care desks manned by NYS personnel, enough seats for members of the public, clean restrooms, and dignified services at the counters. pic.twitter.com/9JoYpVVrjF
— Dr. Fred Matiang'i (@FredMatiangi) October 28, 2019
Apologising on Tuesday for not acting on the situation fast enough, Matiang’i promised to supervise operations at the centre personally until a smooth flow is achieved.
He also noted that the office washrooms had been properly renovated for an overall dignified client experience.
Before Matiang’i’s intervention, it took anything between 3 and 6 months, or longer, for Kenyans to have their registration documents processed at the centre.