Citizens’ statement against the inconvenience of the rushed Birth Certificate policy

This statement is issued in solidarity with fellow citizens who in pursuit of birth certificates have over the past number of days had to brave numerous inconveniences not least of which include scorching days, long queues, tired feet and slow service, parched tongue, rumbling stomachs and fainting spells. We wish to register our loud protest against the continued frustration of Kenyan citizens as they attempt to secure this apparently vital document and demand that immediate action is taken by the relevant government authorities to end the needless suffering.

While we appreciate the importance of national population statistics in informing the allocation of national resources, and the need to deter cheating and impersonation in national examinations, we vehemently protest against the manner in which the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Immigration and Registration of Persons have approached this exercise. Although the policy was well-intentioned, it is obvious that its implementation was not well thought through. The policy-makers’ implementation oversight has resulted in the loss of many man hours and has indeed turned out, at the very least, to be an economic burden.

It is not lost upon the keen observer that those standing on these winding queues along Nairobi city streets are Kenya’s majority, the poor working class, who have travelled from far and wide to comply with the government directive. Put in perspective, these are very persons for whom the endless hours spent on the snaking queues have meant irredeemable lost opportunities by which to put food on their tables since they ordinarily depend on hours worked and daily wages earned to barely get by from day to day. The rushed policy has meant that families that have from generation to generation not possessed birth certificates, have had to pool what little resources they have in order for the examination candidate amongst them to obtain the hitherto optional document. It has meant that many from the rural and remote parts of the country have made unbudgeted and unplanned trips to distant District head quarters or Nairobi, leaving their usual economic sustenance activities untended and neglected while they spend painfully long hours idly exposed to the elements on city streets. It has also meant less sleep, short tempers and the agony of apprehension as obtaining the certificates has increasingly proved futile.

Going against the Ministries’ service charters, this policy has also been most reactionary as evidenced by the lack of adequate personnel at the relevant offices both in Nairobi and at district level. This has exposed parents and students to the aforementioned hassles as well as to unscrupulous individuals with empty promises of assistance in quickly obtaining the document. The ill-planned implementation of the policy is perpetuating corruption in government offices as desperate Kenyans seeking these registration services fall prey to greedy individuals capitalizing on their need.

It is totally unacceptable that innocent Kenyans must continue suffering due to the government’s planning failures and lack of foresight.

We therefore demand that as a matter of great urgency:

1. The process of registration should be undertaken at the primary schools and secondary schools themselves in order to save the man hours lost by parents and students travelling to and camping outside District headquarters or outside the Attorney General’s office in Nairobi. It is not enough to advise certificate seekers to return after seven days, since in any event most cannot afford the repeated trips to and from Nairobi.

2. Besides, additional staff must immediately be hired both in Nairobi and at district registration offices to ease the congestion and delays currently characteristic of the registration exercise.

3. The registration of persons in Kenya must be decentralized from Nairobi and from district headquarters to ward or village levels. In many areas of rural and remote Kenya, even a trip to the district office is not an affordable option to local residents.

We wish to remind those in position of government leadership that this government exist to serve the people of Kenya and its services should be easily accessible to them no matter where they live. Government policies and their implementation should not be an inconvenience to Kenyans. In the spirit of people-responsive governance, the formulation of policy must not only be proactive but must have the welfare and interests of the Kenyans as central considerations.

We urge fellow Kenyans to demand the top class services for which they have paid their taxes. It is our right as taxpayers to enjoy easily accessible services and to be served professionally and efficiently. We must not by suffering silently agree to perpetuate the social injustices triggered or aggravated by poor government planning or leadership for that matter. Let us not flinch from demanding good governance and accountability from this government.

In solidarity and for Bunge la Mwananchi,

George Nyongesa
www.bungelamwananchi.org
+254 720 451 235

Editor’s notes:
Bunge la Mwananchi is a national platform for grassroots Kenyans to engage in democratic expression on good governance, political accountability and social justice issues.