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{
    "id": 1157239,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1157239/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 469,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Limuru, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Peter Mwathi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 104,
        "legal_name": "Peter Mungai Mwathi",
        "slug": "peter-mwathi"
    },
    "content": "Affairs Secretariat, the National Social Security Fund, the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), the Kenya Revenue Authority, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. We also engaged key civil society organisations in the name of the Undugu Society of Kenya, the Nubian Rights Forum, NAMATI Kenya, the Lawyers Hub Kenya, the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders - Kenya, Amnesty International Kenya, Kituo cha Sheria, Katiba Institute, among others. It is important to know that the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government has invested a lot of money in ensuring that this consolidated legislation on registration of persons, including other information and data, is brought to one platform. One will not have to carry several documents like an identity card and possibly a passport when he or she is visiting various institutions in the name of KRA, NSSF and NHIF. It is happening in many other countries, including Estonia which did a very comprehensive presentation before the Committee. It was quite a noble idea that the Ministry could take. It is important and instructive to note that the Ministry has so far spent Kshs450 million. In that, we have 11,000,000 cards done. The process is proceeding. It was being done under administrative procedures and arrangements. That is why we need this Bill passed so that we can anchor it in law. I know there has been concern. Let me speak to those concerns, especially from the State Department of Immigration. That, immigration officers were going to be mere data collectors yet we know that they deal even with security issues. I want to mention here and now that Clause 72(4) of the Bill provides that a public officer who immediately before the commencement of this Act, was a member of staff of the entities known as the National Registration Bureau, the Civil Registration Services, the State Department of Immigration and the Integrated Population Registration Services shall, upon such commitment, be deployed to carry out the functions of their respective services within NIIMS. None of them is being moved out of what they are doing. Their duties and functions are going to remain the same. The Committee is of the view that this provision is meant to ensure that each of the entities retain their functions as they are. The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act (No. 12) of 2011, on which the immigration function is anchored, has not been repealed. I am emphasising this because there have been issues with immigration saying that the law is going to be repealed by the Huduma Bill. I can confirm here that it is not going to be repealed and that their duties are going to remain the same. The Huduma Bill of 2021 only provides for minor amendments on the Act to harmonise it with its provisions. The Committee noted with appreciation that this is in realisation that the immigration function is more than just personal data collection. The functions of the Directorate of Immigration Services as outlined in Clause 4(1) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act remain intact. However, the Committee is recommending some amendments to the Bill as it is, to ensure smooth carrying out of all the functions within the NIIMS. Specifically, there has been a proposal to have amendments to ensure that there is no single office that takes over all the functions of the other entities. The independence of the mechanism is also going to be addressed by the amendments that are contained in the Report. The issue of births happening outside health institutions is also going to be taken care of; it was not there before. Possibility of access to personal data by unauthorised personal has been curtailed by the amendment. Kenyans with no identity cards who would feel that they are not going to be taken care of will be taken care of by the regulations. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}