The immigration department on Friday, May 10, announced it had set up a desk at Nyayo House to help fast-track the replacement of lost personal documents including Identity Cards through floods.
Immigration Principal Secretary Julius Bitok made the announcement during a tree planting exercise at the Kenya Meat Institute in Mavoko, Machakos County.
The PS noted that a similar desk would also be set up across the country to help sort out the menace in the shortest time possible.
“We are ready to move around the country to ensure each one of them has a new document in the shortest time possible,” the PS stated.
Bitok, while making the announcement, noted the ongoing floods made many Kenyans lose property as well as personal registration documents that were crucial for day-to-day identification and transactions.
"Over 286,000 had been affected by flooding in the country with close to 47,000 households displaced and over 200 deaths reported in 37 of the country’s 47 counties," Bitok revealed.
Meanwhile, the PS also appealed to Kenyans to plant more trees as a means of mitigating flooding and other weather extremes.
“We will plant 3,000 trees in this area while joining the rest of Kenyans to ensure there are enough trees to help us combat flooding and mitigate the effects of climate change,” Bitok stated.
Bitok's directive on the replacement of lost documents comes weeks after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki noted challenges affecting the production of passports had been solved.
Kindiki noted Kenyans would from May 1 begin receiving their passports within 21 days upon application.
The CS further noted the 21 days would be reduced to seven days and subsequently to 3 days by November this year.
"The government has addressed the historical bottlenecks that had resulted in the frustration of many Kenyans in their search to acquire the Kenyan passport," Kindiki stated.
