Grace Ashiru
Unique Personal Identifiers(UPI) have soared as a new means of identification in Kenya. The government chose this method as opposed to the previous Huduma Namba whose implementation was hindered by court cases and a lack of clarity
The objective of this new identification technique is to Provide Kenyan citizens and residents with a distinct and easily verifiable digital identifier.
Kenya’s ICT and Digital Economy Minister, Eliud Owalo, acknowledged the shortcoming of the Huduma Namba to be based on its manner off on its manner of introduction. He emphasized the importance of explaining any initiatives planned to be introduced to the public.
Kenya’s government stated the significance of the UPI and its value to its citizens. They mentioned that the UPI is important to every Kenyan throughout their lives beginning from their educational journey as it will serve as their identification number all through their primary and secondary school till it changes to their official national number at their adult stage. In addition, the UPI will still serve other purposes like functioning as the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) number, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) number, driving license number, and even the number associated with their death certificate.
Therefore, the introduction of the UPI signifies that the Huduma Namba project which the government spent KES 10 billion on is already dissolved. Since it couldn’t gain public trust and almost half of the registered citizens did not collect their cards.
The government has announced that all Kenyan citizens are expected to own a UPI. They also urge citizens to ease their fears about the security and privacy of their identities as measures are being placed to avoid identity theft.
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