CS Kuria thanks Uhuru for Huduma Centre milestone

By Peter Ochieng

Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Public Service, Performance and Delivery Management Moses Kuria on Wednesday presided over the 10th anniversary of the Huduma Kenya, in Nakuru County.

In his address, the CS thanked retired president Uhuru Kenyatta and former devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru for the Huduma journey.

“The Huduma Kenya journey has been a long one and I take this opportunity to appreciate former president Uhuru Kenyatta, Anne Waiguru and all the other stakeholders who helped us realize this dream 10 years ago,” the CS said.

Waiguru is currently serving as the governor, Kirinyaga county and chairperson of the Council of Governors.

Kenyatta, in November 2013 launched the Huduma Kenya one-stop shop to access and pay for government services electronically, in order to cut corruption and bureaucracy.

A pilot centre was set up in the capital, Nairobi. Several Huduma Centres have over the years been rolled out across the country.

"For a long time, Kenyans have been subjected to moving from place to place in search of services from the government. Kenyans and visitors became accustomed to being frustrated numerous times in their quest for public service: 'Come tomorrow' 'Go to this or that other office first' 'Bring a copy of your identity card' and so on,” Kenyatta said, then.

"Endless, static queues have been the order of the day, wasting countless hours. Public service became the epitome of inefficiency. This inefficiency bred corruption, initiating a cycle of vice which has tormented many and cost the country billions."

There are over 50 Huduma Centres spread out in most parts of the country. The Centres are mostly in urban settings. CS Kuria says his intension is to open more centres in rural areas.

“Going forward, our vision is to expand Huduma Kenya to the grassroots so that we can take the government to the people. In partnership with our MPs and with the support of National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) we want to ensure that every constituency has a Huduma Centre,” he said.

If his pledge is fulfilled, the country will have 290 Huduma Centres as per the number of constituencies in the country.

Huduma Kenya Service Delivery is a Kenya Vision 2030 Flagship Project established vide the Kenya Gazette Notice No. 2177 of 4th April, 2014.

The Program has transformed public service delivery in a bid to ensure access to efficient, effective and citizen-centric services through One-Stop-Shop platforms.